Konoha's Legacy: An Alternate Version
by The Gemini Project
Summary: What if the Kyuubi never attacked Konoha? What if the Yondaime still governed Konoha? What if Naruto had a family? How durastic would the difference be? What could the consequences possibly be for Naruto or Konoha? Chp. 20 The Real Naruto
1. Chapter 1

Welcome everyone to my first Fanfic on this website. This was originally gonna be the second story I released but I suddenly felt drawn to this one and couldn't get away from it. Anyways, here is the basic gist of the story.

"_What if...it is a powerful phrase that many people use nowadays. But...What If...The Kyuubi never attacked Konoha. What If the Yondaime still exists and is still governing Konoha. What If Naruto had a family to oversee his growth. What If...Naruto was Kyuubi-less. How much different would things be? Would everything still happen like it did when the Kyuubi had attacked? If so, how much differently would things occur. Would this change have durastic consequences on Konoha or Naruto?"_ Wanna know? Read to find out. That's all I ask for.

**Chp. 1 - New Day, Old Habits**

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BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

The bane of his existence. Oh how he hated that damn noise. It was just a nuisance. All it does is make a noise in the attempts of waking someone up if possible. But what if that person just turns it off? What purpose does it serve then if the person it is trying to wake up just reaches over and turns it off, or unplugs it, or maybe takes a hammer to it? The person who invented this damn device deserved to shot. It especially had no usefullness in his life.

I mean come on, why have an alarm clock if you knew you were also going to receive a follow-up morning call from one of the assistants in the house. He had gotten into a habit of hitting the snooze alarm about three months ago and was always able to get a least fifteen minutes of extra sleep. Unfortunately though for the poor boy, this didn't last but two weeks after his father became fed up with him waking up late for his morning exercises. A follow-up wake-up call was administered for his morning routine, usually consisting of an elderly man, with long white hair tied in a ponytail style, using a minor jutsu to dump water on the boy's head, effectively waking him up in a foul mood. 'Not today' the youth said to himself, reaching over, turning off the damn alarm, resisting the urge to use it as a shuriken and chuck it at the wall. That would end the pain.

He sat up in his bed and looked around his spacious room, kind of upset with all the expensive, decorative items strewn across it, given to him as a 'gift.' But he knew better, it was only to get on friendly relations with his father in hopes of swinging decisions or favors in their direction. It was disgusting to him. The boy would love nothing more than to spit in those arrogant, smug bastards' faces for the way they used him to get to his father, but he just couldn't do that, that would tarnish the reputation of their beloved clan. Plus, he wouldn't be able to look his mother in the face again. He just accepted it, bowed in thanks, and took the gift and put it somewhere in the vast amount of space his bedroom had.

Desks and tables of elegant design, some engraved with mesmerizing designs, others had magnificent gemstones embedded in them. Scrolls hung from the walls with amazing images painted on them or significant proverbs written on them. He had a dresser with a mirror built into it on the far side of the room, the mirror, as well the dresser, embroidered with amber colored gems, that seemed to shine forever, even with the dimmest of light provided by the moon. His bed was his favorite gift though, for he actually got the most use out of it. The mattress was made up of soft, exquisite material that made it just conform to the users shape, giving both firmness yet comfort. The sheets were thin, delicately made out of silk in a dark orangish-color, and the comforter, which was thick and made especially for the coldest days of winter, was large, covering all of the bed but was currently kicked onto the floor because it made him too freakin hot in the evening and was patched with many diamond-shaped patterns, with the symbol of the village sewn into it. The framework of the bed was four-poster, each post having a large amber-colored sphere at the top, connected to the bed by thick, yet smooth, poles with lightning designs carved into them. The head of the bed, which was littered with pillows, though he only needed two or three to sleep, had the design of the village made by steel and connected to the two head posts. The bed was king size as well, making the young boy feel quite small in comparison.

He heard the familiar, tell-tale sound of a pair of rather large sandals, probably belonging to a rather big man, making their way to his room. The sound came closer and closer, then stopping as the sound reached right outside his room. The boy could see the shadow of the man from through his sliding door, the material on the doors never being thick enough to stop light from being seen either inside the room or outside it, or thick enough to stop anyone from seeing an intruder outside the door. The door began to open and a head popped through the doorway, looking inside to see the condition of the young boy he was told to check up on. He saw the said boy in his bed but instead of still laying down, like he had been numerous times before, he was now sitting up and looking straight at the man. This man seemed to be rather tall, like the boy assumed, his wild white hair finding only some semblance of order in the form of a ponytail-style, even though the hair was still extremely long, shaggy, and looked unbearable. As this man looked at the boy, he realized something was amiss. The boy was smiling at him with an ever-arrogant smirk, two fingers pointing at an area above the man's head. He looked up to the area the child was pointing at, only to be hit from above by a puddle of water, which instantly soaked the man's head and the top part of his clothes. His hair matted down now with the moisture from the water, he raised a hand up and batted some of his bangs out of his eyes and looked at the boy with a hint of annoyance but it was quickly diminished when he saw the boy holding his sides and laughing at him with such glee. 'Eh, it may be a bad way to start out, but at least he won't be such a brat this morning.'

"So you mastered that one, did you?"

"Just thought I'd give you a piece of your own medicine. But yes, I did finally get it mastered." The technique was simple enough, a few hand seals and one would be able to thicken the air with moisture, then condense it into a small, or if you used a lot of chakra, a large, puddle of water that had many uses. The hard part for the boy had not been the whole thicken-the-air-with-moisture thing, it had been directing that moisure while keeping it compressed. Kinda tricky, the boy had to admit, but he had finally mastered it after working on it for a couple of weeks.

The elder man who had been the butt of the boy's prank cleared his throat to settle the atmosphere and get the boy's attention. "Come now, Naruto, it's time to begin the morning routine." Though he said this to get the boy's attention more onto the task at hand, he could not help but be surprised at his speed of learning the complexities of certain jutsus. Naruto was like a sponge: he saw something, saw it done once, maybe needing to see it twice, and then he would practice it until he got it to do what he wanted it to do. He was determined and very strong-willed, always going against what was required from him out of his practices. Naruto's father had wanted Naruto's reserves and stamina to be worked on and increased before they taught him jutsus or any sort of technique, but the boy had found a way around it by spying on anybody around the house either practicing techniques or doing tasks using minor jutsus. Naruto was a natural, picking up on the 'Suiton: Water Gathering' jutsu quite quickly. He even had mastered an earth technique that was meant to soften soil for planting, which was how he saw it used. He picked up on it, studying the hand seals, practicing the control and feel of it, and before the old man knew it, the boy had learned this technique as well. He used it on the old man too, softening the soil so much it created a quicksand and he lost his sandals thanks to Naruto, who just promptly laughed at him, saying it was payback for dunking him into the stream the day before, during a chakra control exercise.

Naruto, meanwhile, was mumbling under his breath, as he changed out of his sleek, comfortable pajamas, given to him by a feudal lord from Wave Country, and put on his pure black bodywear which resembled full length body underwear, but this material was made with chakra fused into it, giving the wearer a desired comfort in any condition. If it was cold, the clothing would heat up, and vice versa. Another neat thing about it was if Naruto got soaked from falling into the stream, which he did frequently, it would dry off quickly, not leaving any trace the user was ever touched by water that day. This gift was one that he cherished, because it was given to him by a boy 6 years his elder, who just so happened to be the genius of his clan, Uchiha Itachi. The boy's distant looks and oddly disinterested voice were a bit unnerving at times but he always seemed to be friendly when Naruto was around. In fact, Itachi had helped Naruto learn a small heat gathering jutsu that, once mastered, could be used in a number of ways. Naruto was explained some of it's more advanced uses, like focusing it to such a small yet great degree that it could start a small fire, for camps and such, or you could raise the temperature of other things, like water. He wanted to test it on the stream that he used for his chakra control exercises when it became frigid, so he could heat it up and make it more welcoming to fall in every now and then, but this one was still a bit difficult. He could warm up a certain perimeter around his body but he couldn't control it yet, unlike the water gathering technique. It was going on two months since Itachi taught him that jutsu but he just couldn't get it. That, and he had also spent some of his time mastering the earth and water techniques he could now use.

After putting on the 'bodysuit,' he looked up to the old man, who was a great friend of the family and who was his father's sensei, and who was one of the legendary Sannin, who were supposed to be the strongest team of ninja's in Konoha's history. Naruto felt honored that this man, Jiraiya, had agreed to oversee his training until he entered the ninja academy. Naruto would be turning nine years old this year, and though he felt he could be in the Ninja Academy already, his father, told him he would not have that happen. His reasons? Who knew, but his old man always seemed to have a hidden agenda with everything he did. All of his statements seemed to hold a deeper, hidden meaning, and what the real purpose was behind this was anybody's guess.

Jiraiya did know, though, why the Yondaime had decided against sending Naruto too early to the academy. The reason was two fold. He feared that Naruto might become the victim of possible failure and therefore, ridicule, if he did not pass. The other reason was, if Naruto passed, he did not want his son to be the subject of many comparisons. This was unavoidable, the Yondaime knew it, but if he could prevent it from happening too early, then he was going to do so. The Yondaime actually feared that the seemingly brotherly relationship between Itachi and Naruto would spark Naruto's desire to attend the academy early and try to pass it early, just because Itachi had done the same. Another reason for making Naruto wait was so that he could pass the genin exam with the other heirs to the prestigious clans. Jiraiya was also informed that Naruto was probably going to be enrolled in the Konoha academy, to help build his character. Interaction with other young children like him would do Naruto good, or so the Yondaime believed.

Jiraiya now returning the blond boy's gaze, motioned his head out of the room, which caused Naruto to grudgingly walk to his doorway and towards the meditation garden. This was probably the most enjoyable time in the mornings. He was given the chance to sit down in the presence of such serenity and it calmed him greatly, helping him focus greatly on the day ahead. It was the same old, same old, but at least there were still things that were enjoyable. This was one of those enjoyable activities, the other's being lunchtime and the time he got to himself which he used mastering the few jutsus he knew. Despite how he felt about going to a public school, he envied the children there. The only thing stopping him from not wanting to go was he just did not want to hear all the talk. _'Oooh, look. There's the Hokage's son.' 'Oh, look, there's the heir to the Uzumaki clan.'_ He heard those words and saw those looks so many times when he would go into the market. The greedy looks on the store owners' faces sickened him, not as much as the political figures' looks did, but it still made Naruto swell with anger. They may have thought that they were flattering him with the title, but Naruto just wanted to be Naruto. _Oh well, guess some things can't change._

They stayed at the garden for a little over an hour, until Jiraiya became bored. Naruto however, had not become bored. He already was to begin with. It was just too routine, he wanted something different, something fresh and exciting, something that could actually grasp his interest. "Hey, Jiraiya, isn't it time for breakfast yet?"

"Why yes, it is. Hungry are we?"

"Well, a little. I just want to do something else."

Jiraiya chuckled at the boy before telling him to go ahead and get something to eat. He, himself, was hungry and wanted something bad, but he had to check in with the Yondaime, before continuing with this day's schedule. He was asked to oversee Naruto's training but he really wasn't teaching him anything, so it saved him the bother of having to actually teach, which was something he disliked doing immensely. The Fourth was an exception, though, since he was a quick study. Naruto, just like Yondaime, was a quick study too and could quite possibly gather Jiraiya's interest over time. He also wanted to ask Naruto's father if he was going to actually send Naruto to the Ninja Academy. If so, Jiraiya would miss the brat but would be thankful to no longer doing 'babysitting,' even if he did volunteer for the task. Naruto's birthday would be a few days away, why not give him as a birthday gift the freedom from this routine that the boy seemed to loathe.

(One Hour Later)

Naruto had already finished his breakfast and was just walking around the compound when he happened by his mother, who smothered him in unwanted affection. She was an elegant female, always wearing something beautiful to accentuate her glamorous look. In short, she was divine, a work of art, so to say. She was currently wearing a morning robe with a light pink coloring and a darkish pink color to the decorative flowers sewn into the clothing. It covered her entire body except her feet, in which were covered by thick, cushioned house slippers which helped keep her warm during the cooler months in Konoha. They were white, with pink borders, and though they would seem plain and ordinary to some, to those who knew her they complimented her features. Her skin, while it always looked cold and lifeless, because of its pale complexion, made her look like a doll but it was just another one of those things that made her who she was. Her face was smooth, cheeks rosy, eyes were a lovely sky blue, and her hair was long, going all the way down to the middle of her back, and had a cherry oak coloring to it. Back to Naruto's struggle with her, yes he loved his mother dearly, but her affectionate display was always just too much. After escaping her deathgrip and sweet kisses, Naruto made his way towards his room to gather the essentials he would need for his daily routine. Same old, same old.

After meeting back up with Jiraiya, who had an unusually pleased look on his face, they set off for the local stream where they always trained. The area was surrounded by trees, which they used on numerous occasions for the tree climbing exercise. Naruto had actually landed in the hospital a couple times for using too much chakra to try and stick to a tree. The result, a speeding yellow blur flying through the air and crashing into another tree. Expecting to hear the concerned sobbings of sentimental get-well-soon wishers, he awoke to see his father, who only laughed, not at him, but with him. That was one good thing about his father, he could take any bad situation and seem to find something to laugh about in the end. It also helped that it was contagious, as Naruto had joined in with him. That had been about four months and one week ago and now the tree climbing exercise was particularly easy. It was the annoyingly difficult water-walking exercise that was pissing off the blonde youth. That was why he liked Itachi's training outfit that he had received. So now, here they were, going to that same stream, to do the same exercises, in the same alotted time, all just a boring routine.

When they reached their location, Naruto pulled out of a little sack he was carrying a towel and a handful of shurikens. He looked at Jiraiya, who simply nodded, and walked to edge of the water, taking off his sandals and tossing them ungracefully behind him towards his stuff. As he stepped onto the freezing water, a wave of shivers going up and heading back down his spine, leaving goosebumps in it's wake, he applied a chakra amount and began putting weight onto the foot to see if he had balance. The foot sunk, but only an inch, which gained a smirk from Naruto. _So far so good._ Applying chakra now into his other foot, he starting putting pressure on that foot when it reached the water, doing everything in his power to even out not only his weight but his chakra too. It was actually working, and he was beyond happy, he was ecstatic, but he had to concentrate or he would sink into the icy river of doom. So here he was, already performing this exercise at the beginning of his day. Not good. Now he was going to become irritated and bored even faster. Usually the annoyance of not getting the hang of the exercise kept his train of thought busy but now he would succumb to his anxious tendencies when he was bored beyond reason. He kept applying and reapplying pressure, evening himself out and staying focused, until he gave a small grunt to get the old man's attention.

"Well, well, well, Naruto. Looks like we finally got the hang of it. I must say I am very, very, very pleased with your progress. You might actually be doing better than your father when he was your age. I'll make you a deal Naruto, if you can sustain that for a full three minutes by the time it is the eve of your birthday, then I will teach you how to perform a more difficult jutsu, okay?"

"ALRIGHT! You have yourself a deal!" But Naruto's boisterous response of glee had disrupted his train of thought and he fell into the frigid waters beneath him. It was like a bolt of lightning had struck, mind you he had never felt a bolt of lightning before, but Naruto was positive that this would feel relatively the same. The shockwaves that were rippling through him were so painful that he felt like he couldn't move. It was so cold that his bodysuit wasn't working strong enough. He felt like he was blinded, but he knew instinctively where to go and that was up. After struggling with his muscles to move, he made his way to the top. Upon reaching his objective, he gasped for air like it was a lifeline, which it technically was at the time. After pulling himself out of the water by reaching the edge the stream and onto solid ground, he coughed a little before hugging his knees to his chest and shivering. Collecting his thoughts, he let go of his knees, performed the necessary hand seals, molded his chakra, and activated the Katon: Heat Gathering jutsu. Instantly his body become surrounded by an enveloping warmth that soothed his body and unnumbed any frozen limbs. He could now hear Jiraiya laughing derisively at him, and turning to him he saw Jiraiya doubled over in laughter. Sending the old man a death glare, he realized that he saw something out of the corner of his eyes. The movement was brief and sudden but very noticeable. _Is that a something? Or a somebody?_ He chose to wait and see if he saw it again and, now feeling rather hot, disspelled the Katon jutsu, very proud of himself for making it work correctly for the first time since he had been taught the technique. He turned back to the water, ready to practice the exercise and stay afloat this time.

Walking to the edge to the stream again, he looked at the water trying to judge just how much chakra he would have to use in order to make the Katon jutsu work on the entire stream. He decided to not try it and just practice later. If he used too much, he might make the water boil and then if he fell in he would melt. The image was unpleasant so Naruto just settled on using it the way he had used earlier just in case he fell in again. As he started to step in, he thought he heard something again. He ignored it and waited till he was on the water to see what the commotion was all about. As he gazed around, he noticed Jiraiya's laugh had dimmed down and now had completely stopped, and when Naruto looked in the direction Jiraiya was looking, he turned to look in the same direction. What they both saw, and what threw Naruto off, was a young girl in a light blue kimono, with long indigo hair (well, long for a small girl), and eyes that were a mystifyingly white color, looking at them while sitting on the bank. Naruto's mouth hung open, really out of surprise that someone else was here but also from embarrassment that this girl might have seen him make an ass out of himself just a moment ago. She was staring at him as if he was the most interesting thing on the face of the planet, which sort of unnerved him, leaving him even more puzzled about why he felt that way. Jiraiya's footsteps could be heard as he walked towards the said girl who was on the other side of the stream.

"Oy, young one, might you be Hinata of the Hyuuga clan?"

"H-Hai, I am. I hope I am not interrupting anything...am I?" As she said this, Naruto felt something tug at him, like he was desperate for her to not leave. Her appearance was the first non-routine thing to happen in the past month or so. He was also desiring some form of companionship on his own age level. Itachi's visits were always welcome because he was as close to his age as it could get when all Naruto did was these stupid exercise regimens. He walked down the stream till he was close to the girl's location, then took a good look at her. Well, no matter if he hated the reactions he received after he usually introduces himself, an introduction was in order.

"Hi, my name is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Y-yes I thought you were. I hope you don't mind that I am here. I can leave if you want me to." She failed to look him when she spoke, her head looking to the side, eyes averted so that she would not even look at him. He wanted to nip this in the bud, but Jiraiya did it for him.

"Nonsense, my dear. We were just going to take a break in another hour. You're welcome to stay until then and I and my young ward here can treat you to lunch, if you would like?"

A vein popped on Naruto's head. _'Young ward?' _"Yeah, stay here with us, you can even join in if you want. It gets boring being out here without anyone else. So what is your name again?" The girl, still looking down at the ground, as if afraid the ground was going to part underneath her sending her to a bottomless abyss, began to slowly raise her head and eyes to Naruto. He almost could not believe what he saw. The girl, while not as 'elegant' as his mother, was still pretty. Naruto liked to use that word more than cute, because he thought the term 'cute' was a derrogatory term used on people who were more mature to see it as a compliment you would give to a child of five years or younger. The term 'pretty' was a more definite explanation on how one would see someone else, plus it was a term used specifically on girls so it just seemed appropriate at the moment.

Her hair, while short overall, could be considered long on her small body and had a glow to it, as it seemed to shine in the sun. The indigo blue, which seemed very faint and hard to notice, actually shined when the sun beamed on her hair. Her bangs looked like they might be unruly, despite the fact that they looked like they were well treated and tended to. She had two bangs come down the sides of her head that were long enough to go past her ears to halfway between the bottom of her ears and the jawline. The skin complexion was of a pale white, but did not look so doll-ish like his mother did. Instead, coloration of the skin was actually a creamy white, which was enhanced by the seemingly obvious fact that her skin was smooth. Naruto figured it was obvious because it just seemed like you could see it as clear as day. And even though the kimono she wore was covering up most of her body, Naruto believed that she was small and frail. It was when she looked him right in the eyes that he saw that he had made a miscalculation on the appearance of her eyes. They were not pure white like he originally thought but had a light purple color to them, like lavender. She had no pupils in those eyes but the lavender areas seemed to move around like a pupil would so he just figured that was how her eyes worked. When she spoke, he snapped to attention, slightly startled for he had been wrapped up in his mind taking in the appearance of this young girl. He had not been wrong about her though. She was pretty.

"I'm Hyuuga Hinata. Pleased to make your acquaintance, Uzumaki Naruto."

"You don't have to be so formal around me. You can call me Naruto. I'd actually appreciate it. Saying ones full names shows that you have a deep respect for or hold with high honor, the spoken person. Would you mind if I called you Hinata?" Her mouth seemed to drop in surprise of his statement, which raised Naruto's interest of her. _Is she surprised that I spoke like that or is it that I just want to call her by her first name? Did I insult her? Wait a minute, Hinata, that sounds a bit familiar. Come on Naruto, think! Hinata...Hinata...Hyuuga Hinata...THAT'S IT! She's the eldest daughter of the head of the Hyuuga's, which makes her the heir. Crap, I probably did insult her._ "I apologize if I insulted you, I meant no disrespect."

"Y-You don't have to apologize, really. I do not mind i-if you call me by my first name, s-since you have said I can do the same, N-Naruto."

Naruto, meanwhile, was a bit speechless. Hinata was the exact opposite of her father. He remembered seeing the head of the Hyuuga house, Hiashi was his name if he was correct, when he was little with his father and his father made him bow to Hiashi out of respect. He wondered if she was made to do those things as well, if she was as displeased about traditions and the sort being forced onto her. He realized that he had been on the stream for quite a while now, and he was shocked that he hadn't fallen in yet. _What the heck? I've never stayed atop the water when my attention is not focused on the task._ He turned his head towards Jiraiya, grinning a sly fox-like grin. Jiraiya, in response to the look, took in Naruto's presence and understood what the grin was about. Naruto had been on top of the water for over three minutes, closing in on five minutes actually. He couldn't supress a small chuckle as he looked at this boy who had inadvertently won the bet they had taken up. "Alright, well Naruto, seems you win. Congratulations are in order, but I think a simple break will do. When you get back..." he cut off right there for he did not know whether or not to start the boy on such a difficult exercise or to go ahead and teach him the technique. "How about this, I'll do one of two things when we get back from this break. I will teach you either a new jutsu, like I promised, or I can teach you a new chakra controlling exercise which, let me explain the benefits before you say you don't want this, will assist in three stages of combat. It is very complex and difficult but if mastered, can lead to the use of one of your father's trademark techniques. Choose."

Naruto, who had made his way to land, not noticing it was on Hinata's side of the stream, was going to just choose the jutsu at first until Jiraiya explained the chakra-control thing. If Naruto analyzed both scenarios, he would come to the conclusion that whether he chose one or the other, he was going to have to dedicate a great deal of time and effort to the study of either one. He wanted desperately to learn a new jutsu but this chakra control exercise sounded, if it would lead to the use of one of his father's more powerful techniques, like it was a special gift. He just didn't know which one he wanted._ Wait a minute, even if I choose the exercise I can still learn the new jutsu because he owes me a jutsu. It was part of the bet. Hehe, awesome._ "Alright then, I choose the chakra control exercise. But I want to make clear to you, old man, that you still owe me a jutsu as part of our bet."

"NARUTO! Learn to treat me with respect, baka, or I won't teach you anything period, understand?"

"Y-Yes, Jiraiya-sensei. I promise."

"That's better, and don't worry, I'll teach you a jutsu, a good one too, when you are ready. But for today, we will dedicate the rest of the day to learning this new exercise alright? Good, then I say we go ahead and get lunch." It was about 11 am but Naruto would take it, a break was a break. Plus, he hadn't really been all that hungry when he first woke up so he only ate a couple bananas. He then realized that he had forgotten about the young girl, who he was standing close to. He turned to look at her and noticed she was fiddling with her thumbs. She actually looked to be doing this in a nervous manner, although he could be reading too much into her behavior. As a matter of fact, he just met her, so it wouldn't matter if he could not read into her behavior, since he wouldn't know if he was right or not. A thought then popped up into his head and he cleared his throat. The girl, Hinata, jumped a little, startled by the sudden noise Naruto made.

"Ummm...hey, Hinata, would you like to join us for some lunch?" He didn't know why, but he wanted her to say yes. He felt like he'd be hurt if she said no and that confused him too. He looked at her expectantly, hopefully, awaiting her response.

She looked up at him, saw the look in his eyes, and couldn't help but get that same feeling she would get in other situations similar to this one. Hinata was just a good-natured girl, who always wanted to please everyone around her, especially her father and his company, and she couldn't stand to displease anyone. The look in the blonde's eyes was one of those looks that made her feel guilty if she were to disagree or give a response that would displease anyone, and so she knew she was going to say yes. The only difference this time is that she actually didn't mind. This boy seemed different from all her family members or the kind of guests you would expect a 'royal' or 'noble' family/clan to receive. All the young children who would visit during those times would either be intimidated by her eyes, which always hurt her, or would be so stuck-up and snotty, that they would want her to do things they wanted to do. If she didn't do exactly what they wanted to do, they would throw a temper tantrum, run up to their mother's or father's and complain against her, which would have an end result of her getting berated by her father for embarrassing him and the clan. This boy, Naruto, however, seemed different. He asked her, instead of demanded, if she would accompany him and his mentor for lunch. While she didn't know why, she would be happy to accept as long as she didn't get in the way. Again, her side of not wanting to displease them or being a burden on anyone interfering with what she actually wanted to say. _"I'd be delighted." Just say that._

"I-I-I'd like that...unless I'd be a bother or-"

"Nonsense young one. I will escort you and my young apprentice to a place of your choosing." Jiraiya said, cutting Hinata off. He gave Naruto that 'Be-respectful-and-ask' look, which Naruto knew what that meant. _I'm supposed to be a good boy now and ask where she would like to go, as well. Damn manners._ "Yeah, where would you like to eat? Jiraiya will treat us." The mischievious grin he gave Jiraiya made the man gulp and causing a giggle to come from the girl, who tried to stifle it. After recovering herself, she cleared her throat and said she doesn't mind anywhere and Naruto responded to that with a hopeful look to Jiraiya. He sighed before agreeing to go to the boy's favorite place, 'Ichiraku's.'

On their way out of the little clearing back towards the city, a man with white eyes and a robe with a bandage tied over his head came stumbling out from some trees. "Ah, so this is where you are Hinata-sama. Come, let's not disturb these men." He made sure to be polite about the addressing of her company when he saw that the men were the right hand man of the Hokage and the Hokage's son, Naruto. He bowed respectfully before Jiraiya raised his hand and protested Hinata leaving. "I assure you that her company is appreciated as she and Naruto here have become quick friends. Would you mind if we stole her for a little while longer so she can enjoy lunch with us? I promised to treat her and I don't like to go back on my promises."

Naruto had no idea where all this horse crap was coming from that seemed to be spewing out of the old man's mouth like a virus of lies. The man, while faithful, was anything but trustworthy, and quite frankly should be condemned for some of the things that Naruto had caught him doing when he was supposed to be taught by the old geezer. Also, what was up with all the talk that he and Hinata were now friends? That wasn't something you just push on to others too easily as it could give people the wrong impressions. Naruto found no faults with the girl but the title 'friend' was just too quick to throw on them since he had just met her. Naruto thought that Jiraiya was trying to do him an unnecessary favor until he saw for himself, out of the corner of his eyes, that she was visibly tense and almost shuddering. He actually became worried for the girl, fearing she might break out into hysterics. _Is it the sight of this man? Or possibly out of embarrassment?_

"Hmm...fine. I will report to Hiashi-sama of your location, okay Hinata-sama?" She snapped up, one of her hands clenched and going close to her face. He could see she was biting her lower lip visibly and her head was leaning down but not so much it hid her eyes, which looked like she was panicked. He barely heard her respond with a simple "hai" before the man left. How he had heard her from that distance when he could barely hear her from this short of a distance was beyond him. Now that he was gone, she seemed to loosen up a little but he felt a little sorry for her. In short, to summarize everything that he had seen her do and if he had to make a simple assumption/diagnosis of what it all might mean, then he would have to say she was horrified. The question was 'why,' and he wanted to know. His curiosity getting the better of him, he decided to ask her of what that whole situation was about but backed down. That could come later, he decided.

"Are you okay, Hinata? You look like you're scared or something." He saw her jump a little, still troubled, and that troubled him. "You know, if he has done something to upset you, you can let us know."

"N-No, it's not l-like th-that, Naruto-kun." Her face flushed a little as she realized she just called him in a gesture that symbolized comfort around one another. Why did he seem so friendly to her? She was unsure but just wanted to get off this subject. They had just met and besides, the subject was family related.

Jiraiya, quick on perception of the atmosphere, now without the presence of that man who he assumed was from the Hyuuga Branch family, decided to save Hinata some embarrassment. He told them both to come on so they could get their lunch. When they reached the restaurant, he went ahead and let the kids order and then made his. The food served here, ramen, was one of Naruto's most favorite things in the world and when they came here, Naruto would always beam. So happy just to eat noodles, Jiraiya swore the boy needed more enjoyment in his life. He watched as the girl, who was being quiet and seemed to be quite shy and timid, unnatural characteristics for a Hyuuga he noted, just sat there, picking at her food until Naruto broke her out of her trance, asking simple things. Naruto may be a grump when he is doing the training but he was more than bearable when outside of the training.

Naruto found himself very compelled to stop the girls moping, which she seemed to be doing since she hadn't eaten her ramen yet and was just sitting there poking it. He decided to break the silence and asked her simple things. The rules of etiquette always stated that when speaking to someone formally and trying to get to know them, ask questions if nothing seems to work. He asked her her age, what her favorite color was, her favorite hobby and then if she planned on being a shinobi. The answers, in order asked, were eight going on nine, purple, spending time in her family's garden and, surprising to him, yes. He knew the Hyuuga's were revered for their uncanny fighting style and were therefore fierce warriors. But Hinata didn't seem to have the qualities one might assume you needed to be a fierce warrior. He had learned though that looks could be deceiving. Realizing that she was eight years old too, he smiled at her heart-warmingly, saying that they both were going on nine and mentioning his birthday was on the tenth of October.

"Oh...that's a few days away."

"Yeah but my birthday just becomes a quick suck-up day for any arrogant asses who would love to become noticed by my father. All they do is spoil me and give me a fake smile, wishing me an insincere happy birthday, and then look towards my father for some sort of sign that he is satisfied." He took another slurp full of noodles and gulped them down hungrily, surprised with just how hungry he was.

"Hey, Hinata, didn't you say you were turning nine as well? Are you going to the Ninja Academy?"

"H-Hai. Father is sending me there to get assistance in my training." Naruto felt she was lucky but the way she looked said otherwise. Jiraiya, after hearing her say she was attending the academy, was starting to put things into place. For a Hyuuga to attend the Academy, instead of staying home and learning all there is to know about the Hyuuga techniques, meant that that person was seen as inferior. He secretly felt very bad for the girl. The nervous tendencies, the fidgeting, it was all a sign of having an inferiority complex.

"Umm...a-are you going to attend the Ninja Academy as well, N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto almost choked on the rest of his noodles at the question, as well as the -kun suffix. He wondered if he should add the -chan suffix to her name, just out of respect.

"Well, I don't really know. My father didn't let me attend it when I wanted to a year or so ago so I'm not really sure where he stands on it. I might but then I might not." Jiraiya did his best to keep a straight face as he did know what the Yondaime was thinking. Hinata, however, ended up sulking again. Naruto did notice but not the exact reason why. _Does she feel sorry for me? Pleeeeeease don't let that be the case._ After they finished their ramen, Naruto having more than just one bowl, they all decided to head back to the stream. Naruto found it kind of curious how Hinata was still following them. They had treated her to lunch but that was all she would want to hang around for.

When they reached the stream, Jiraiya decided to give Naruto a moment to do whatever he wanted while he went to check in with the Yondaime and get a scroll or two from the family library. He invited Hinata to stay if she wanted as he left. Now they were left alone and the silence seemed awkward and deafening. The only sound that could be heard was that of running water, which was quite noisy and would be distracting if he were trying to meditate. He just sat there, not knowing what to do.

"Hey, Hinata...chan, I'm gonna start getting warmed-up before he returns. If you want to stay you are more than welcome to but once he gets here I'm gonna be totally focused on this new thing he's gonna teach me."

"O-Oh, okay Naruto-kun. Ummm...w-what is...why are you doing such complex exercises at your age?" When Naruto gave her a confused look, she sucked in her breath and tried to get herself ready to continue. "I only ask because w-walking on water isn't a simple thing to master. It isn't something someone of our age sh-should be expected to do."

"It's something that I do. I've been taught all these exercises to help with my chakra control because my father thinks that with great control, everything else will be easier for me. So I've been working on all these things since I was five and I haven't stopped since." And so he went into explanations as she asked him more questions, she seeming to get over her shyness around him and he getting more comfortable and actually not caring that he was explaining all these things to her. From his exercises, to his jutsus, to his bodysuit, to personal interests. He was finding the prospect of them being friends a lot more likely now. He totally forgot that he was going to warm up before Jiraiya returned but he didn't care, he was having fun.

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Jiraiya was now inside of a rather tall and large looking building, the office of the Hokage. It's massive structure allowed for many offices to reside in the building with many people who could assist the Hokage from anything between simple paper work to diplomatic issues. Some people were filers, others were accountants, some ran errands, many were assistants, and the rest were guards. Not that he really needed any but it was just customary. As Jiraiya climbed the flight of stairs to the top floor where the Hokage's office resides and reached the door, he requested his presence with the Yondaime and got the nod from the two men at the door. One was a young man with wild spiky hair going every which way with bandages on his face and the other had a tooth pick in his mouth and had a nagging cough. Jiraiya found it curious that you would have a tooth pick in your mouth while you tended to cough. Wouldn't you be afraid that you'd swallow the damn thing? Oh well, if the guy wanted to be stupid then it wasn't his right to tell the guy otherwise. If the guy wanted to be dumb then it wasn't his right to get involved.

Jiraiya opened the magnificent doors and walked into the spacious room. Big potted plants were in each of the corners of the room, filling it with a heavenly forest aroma. On one side of the office there was a bookcase filled, in alphebetical order, with all the political and ninja issues from the past 100 years or so. On the other side was a simple little night stand with a couple candles on it, as well as what looked like to be an incense stick. The Yondaime always did appreciate the finer arts to meditation and relaxation. Speaking of the said man, he was behind his desk, which would appear normal to the naked eye, but to the trained eye it looked illustrious. It was made with marvelous craftsmanship, the desktop smooth and still remained looking gorgeous since the Yondaime didn't scratch it at all surprisingly. Behind the desk sat the blonde-haired, blue-eyed Hokage, father of Naruto. His dark green ceremonial robes with black designs all around it gave him an ominous look. Girls might think it handsome on him, but to his opponents and to those who knew him, the robe symbolized his confidence and his love of his village and his desire for the village to be seen as itself and not the representative of the Fire Country.

He was the Hokage indeed, but even the previous ones did not ever dress in an attire unfitting to his ninja background. The Third Hokage, Sarutobi, wore the ceremonial garbs and robes when it was appropriate but he always dressed in ninja attire: sleek body underwear, protective bandages and pads, vests, and holsters. Sarutobi was ready for a fight if it ever came. But the Fourth had scrapped that, going in a different direction. When he was first named as the Hokage, he wore the ceremonial red and white hat and robes, but he quickly discarded them, preserving them in a container for the next Hokage but he decided to wear dark green clothing, symbolizing he was the Hokage of the Hidden Village of the Leaf, not the Country of Fire's symbol of power. The Yondaime's love for his people could only be matched by his pride of his village and his ninja heritage. He instead now wore clothing of a style that suited the Hokage of the Leaf, dark green smooth, yet sleek, clothing that had the designs of the leaf drawn into the material. On the back of the robe he wore, Jiraiya was pretty sure there was a dark red swirl going in a counter clockwise direction. Jiraiya walked up to the desk and took a seat in one of the chairs, knowing that his-at-one-time pupil would have him sit to talk about matters.

"What is it that you wish to report my old friend. What news do you feel you need to tell me that can't wait till my off hours." His look was not one of annoyance or aggrivation and his words didn't carry that sound either. It was more of a curiousity than anything else.

"Well, I just wished to inform you that Naruto has succeeded with the water walking exercise, effectively completing the regimen you gave to me for him to follow. He is now at a level probably far beyond than that of any young child his age."

The man before Jiraiya smiled in satisfaction, pleased with his son's progress. "He's come along better than I did at that time. Was that all you wished to tell me?"

"No. What I really wanted to tell you was that I had made a bet with the little brat because he was so confident that if he could remain on the water for a full three minutes by the eve of his birthday then I would teach him a new jutsu. Well he agreed and set off to try and maintain his balance but we had an unexpected visitor. The eldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi, Hinata. Her presence, I thought, might have distracted Naruto but he remained on the water while looking at her and even speaking to her, for over three minutes."

Yondaime just laughed, as if he wouldn't expect anything less from his son, the number one was unpredictable ninja. His son disliked the fact that at a very young age, he was put on this training schedule, but he knew that Naruto would appreciate it in the long run. The news that Hyuuga Hinata was there instead of at her family's house concerned him a little but he decided to leave that issue to her family. It was not his business, just like it wasn't the Hyuuga's business to get involved with his Uzumaki house/clan. The Yondaime tried to piece out the puzzle that was lain out before him and he wondered if it was her presence that really assisted in Naruto defeating Jiraiya in the bet. He asked Jiraiya to give a more detailed description of the day, which Jiraiya reluctantly did, and he soaked up all the information. From Naruto's mastering of the water jutsu, to the use of the fire jutsu, to walking on the water, to the girls presence, to Naruto's reactions to the girl (which amused him), to Jiraiya's giving Naruto a choice (which he made a mental note of the fact that Naruto had decided to learn the chakra control exercise since he knew that Jiraiya would still have to teach him a jutsu), to the Hyuuga Branch family member appearing (Hinata's reaction to the man disturbed the Hokage greatly), to lunchtime (a chuckle escaped him when he heard of Naruto's enthusiasm for Ichiraku), and now they were alone in that clearing. Apparently Jiraiya was here to request the use of an important scroll containing the notes the Yondaime had made on the chakra control procedure and what the steps were. He complied with Jiraiya's request, calling out to one of the guards stationed outside, someone called Hayate, to go to his house and get his wife to give him Scroll #3. They waited for a few minutes as he went back to some paperwork until a loud 'POP' was heard with the familiar scent of smoke that marked the return of ANBU members.

Hayate handed Yondaime the scroll, who pointed his index finger and touched a mark on the rolled-up parchment, which made the whole thing glow bright yellow, and then unraveled. The Yondaime smiled at Jiraiya, telling him he could now unroll it freely and read it as well. Jiraiya figured that it was a double layered seal placed on the scroll. You might be able to break one level of the protection, which was keeping it rolled up but you couldn't read it unless you broke the other one. And Jiraiya was pretty sure that the Uzumaki Hokage had made it so that you had to deactivate both at the same time or you just weren't going to get it. His pupil was always wiley and he would expect nothing less from him. He rolled the scroll back up, said his good-bye, and made his way out the door, leaving the Yondaime to his thoughts. _Hmm...if he is at this level already then he might be able to master it faster than I did. The girls presence seems to have a positive effect as well. Maybe it is time that Naruto learns how to be a team player. I hope you will be happy with your gift Naruto because I'm giving you what you want._

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So what do you think huh? This chapter is just an introductory chapter, as are the next two. But if you can get past those two chapters then the story takes a more interesting spin. If you have questions, feel free to message me or make them apparent in reviews. Reviews are welcome, as are constructive critism that can help me on my writing. I'm not afraid to say I'm a rookie but just because this is my first story does not mean it wont be good. I've made a layout of the story and even I am surprised with how I tie up loose ends later. P

So anyways, here's a preview for the next chapter.

_Naruto suffers through his most precious day. Can anything bring him around?_

Sounds lame at first but I felt the need to show you 'why' the Naruto in my story hates his birthday so much. Give it a shot?

Till next time.


	2. Chapter 2

Hello and I'm back with the next chapter. This chapter is a little bit on the childish, happy side with a bit of bitter side humor. A bit cute but also alot more mature than you would expect from a nine year old's birthday. I thank those who have already reviewed and appreciate your generous compliments. Really, that makes me feel good, to put it simply. But thank you very much. And without further ado, here is the second installment of Konoha's Legacy.

Chp. 2 - A Royal Celebration

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The morning breeze blew through the windows of a luxurious room, filled with exquisite art and furniture, as well as a small blonde boy. Naruto felt the breeze, even as he lay half asleep, and pulled the gargantuan bed comforter over him, huddling into a fetal position for warmth. He had come to know that the month he was in, as well as the next two sucked so much. Yes, even the month of his birthday, which happened to be exactly this day. The breeze seemed like an ominous omen to the boy, the chill he felt being the cold, clammy hands of doom. It was almost that time, that time he would be asked to awaken and then be forced with ungraceful tact. Naruto sucked in his breath and knew he was going to regret awakening today but he had to grace his parents and the guests with his presence after all. It was like his birthday was some festival as all the nuts and whackjobs seemed to come out of hiding, the most sinister and evil of them lurking around every corner, waiting with malicious intent to wish him a 'happy' birthday. The only problem was, how could he have a "happy" birthday if all he ever did was greet and thank people, be courteous in the largest sense of the word, and act like a young gentleman. _For christ's sake, I'm fucking eight-wait nine-years old._

As he gripped the comforter, he sucked in his breath and bit down on the hem of the material, trying to refrain from quite verbally slaughtering the english language. The use of such 'inappropriate' words would seem most un-gentlemanly and his parents would continue to frown upon him as he continued to disgrace his father and the family. The pride with which he took in his heritage could be seen as such an inspiration if the guy wasn't a total idiot. But Naruto did respect his father and his desire for family honor and he felt that he needed to be respectful, for no matter what, he was an Uzumaki. But back to the reaction of his gripping of the comforter, the boy was now clenching his fists, but not into a fist, afraid to put pressure on his tender skin.

The skin of his hands looked much like raw fish. The pinkish raw coloration that the skin held was enough to almost make him sick right on the spot and the pain wasn't helping too much either. He could see where his hands were burned and scarred, and even some disturbing patches where the skin looked like it was melted off. The pain reminded him of his first day after beginning that damn exercise.

That same day where he mastered the water walking exercise, the same day he met that young girl and enjoyed her company as they talked away. When Jiraiya returned, he had a peculiar looking scroll in his hands and he set him off to begin the exercise. It was terrifically awful and magnificently painful on his poor hands. The activity entailed him focusing chakra into his hand which was pretty easy to do. Then he had to start spinning it and thus the fun began. The stamina training had paid off, as did the building of his chakra stores, but that was why he ended up suffering. He apparently had so much chakra for his immature body that the chakra he was pumping into his hand was too much and therefore was causing him harm. Despite all his controlling exercises which should've made this easy, he could not seem to get the desired reaction that Jiraiya was trying to teach him. The way he showed him was by doing the first two steps and then stepping up to the water, he started to spin his chakra which gathered water into his hands which he continued to spin until the water stayed in his hands and in a perfect form, the form Jiraiya chose was one of a disc. The water was spinning with the chakra so fast that the water was taking the form of a disc. The explanation of why this was so important to accomplish was because that was one of the most difficult things to perform with this technique: giving it form. Giving the swirling chakra a form was the most beneficial way to turn the exercise into a technique for attacking. The countless times he attempted it had been painful and apparently not just to him. He noticed that Hinata, who was still watching him at the time, seemed to blanch when his hand started to sizzle as if his skin were cooked bacon. He was also disturbed by this and couldn't help but curse the old man for teaching this to him. Yes he could've stopped…but he was too much like his father. If his father was an idiot then Naruto was a complete dumbass.

Night started to settle in as the sun was setting on the horizon and Naruto said his farewells to Hinata, who did the same. Naruto hoped to see her soon which he noticed caused her mouth to hang open slightly and a red taint to form on her cheeks. When he returned to the same spot the next day, however, she was not there and did not appear, which actually depressed him. But he focused on the exercise, which left the same results but this time he passed out by noon from the pain. The same thing happened again the next day, a little later mind you, for he passed out at 1 p.m. this time.

Now here it was, the day of his birthday, and he was miserable from the searing pain in his hands. If he had stuck with just one hand the whole time, then that one hand would be nothing but a skeleton by now. No matter how much he didn't want to seem weak to others, a tear managed to fall from his eyes because of the wretching pain. He heard the familiar sound of sandals but it wasn't emphasized from supporting the large frame of the hulking man who trains him but it was light and temperous. _Crap, its my father, I should've known he'd be the one to wake me up._ He tried to sit up and get out of bed before his father could begin but it was too late.

"Wake your ass up, boy! It's time to grace the day with your handsome, exquisite smile, my son. Don't be shy, it's your birthday!" His voice boomed so loudly in Naruto's room that it left echoes, despite the fact that it was large and there was a freaking window open. Did this man realize that he almost broke his own son's eardrums? By the way he flashed his goofy smile, that was a 'hell no.' Naruto had a rather large bead of sweat falling from him out of sheer embarrassment of his father. Like it was said earlier, Naruto believed his father to be an idiot and here he was, proving Naruto's theory to be ever so accurate. The bright green ceremonial robe his father wore was an eyesore to the still sleepy Naruto, standing out too much with the wild blonde hair his father possessed. That bastard was responsible for passing down a gene so annoying, Naruto wanted to punch him almost every morning. He couldn't get his hair to do anything, it was so unruly and so unkempt, Naruto feared he might end up looking like a hobo, but at least it could be trimmed and that was the only thing saving his father from an alarm clock upside the head right now. That and the fact that anything he touched sent tremendous tremors of pain through his arms and to the section of his brain that processed that stuff, which sent a signal to his vocal cords to begin a tirade of verbal assaults that would make anyone flinch and would probably make his mother's ears bleed. Back to his father, though, who was beaming at him with a smile that was infectious on every level of its meaning. You might smile from seeing it and yet you might also develop an ulcer. The robes went all the way down to his feet, which were covered with a pair of black sandals. In summary, he was unique alright.

Now he was awake and would have to get up and get dressed and by doing so, his father would see the damage he had done to himself and hell would probably break loose. _Doesn't really matter, the faster this day gets done, the better._ It was a shame that he felt he couldn't enjoy his special day but it just wasn't looking too optimistic right now. He got up, slumping his arms down to hang at his sides as he walked over to the dresser, only to be put in a headlock by his father who, despite having a somewhat average bodyframe, was unfathomably powerful. Last time Naruto sparred with his father, Naruto's punch was blocked and with a simple flick of the wrist, Naruto was sent sailing through a tree. His father didn't apologize, just smiled, laughed at him, and said he just doesn't know his own strength. Now Naruto was stuck in a head lock and couldn't do anything about it.

"Damnit dad, that hurts. Can't I get some peace on my birthday instead of having to deal with crap like this!"

"And miss out on the chance to turn you into a sour puss, no chance. You really need to take these things in stride, Naruto. It'll make you better in the end. Laugh once in a while, your mornings will be a lot brighter."

"Kinda hard to smile in the morning when I'm in pain, in a headlock, and was forced to wake up early" Naruto managed between gritted teeth as he struggled with his father.

"If you didn't use so much chakra in your hands, then you might not hurt yourself so much." Before Naruto protested, he continued. "I know, I know, but it isn't the amount of chakra you use, its the velocity of the spin which gives it it's form. You have enough time to perfect it in your life. Four years...should be sufficient, if I'm correct."

Naruto stopped squirming and processed the information...all of it. _Four years? He couldn't mean..._He was released from his father's death grip and looked up, seeing his mother standing at the doorframe out of the corner of his eyes, but paying the most attention to his father.

"Number one, it is later than you think it is and therefore you already have guests, so lets get you dressed. Number two," he bent down, ruffling Naruto's hair, and looking him right in the eyes with the piercing blue eyes. But they were gentle and were sparkling with..._pride?_ Naruto had seen that look before and he was wondering what he was going to say before his father continued. "You will be attending the Ninja Academy in a weeks time." Naruto's eyes sparkled with happiness that was so contagious, he heard his mother giggle. "Happy birthday, my son. I'm so proud of you." Naruto leapt at his father, excited beyond belief. His hands hurt when he wrapped them around his dad but he didn't care, his happiness and joy was too great and overpowered the pain, possibly the only thing that could overcome the pain. His father broke the hug, told him to get dressed and they would see him in the common room. Naruto nodded and went to getting prepared. He figured he could make himself more presentable now that he was in such a great mood. He felt he could even stomach those cold bastards' fake smiles. After taking a quick shower, he put on a dark green ceremonial robe, which was similar to his father's robe, and unwrapped the bandages that were already on his hands, rewrapping them in new bandages which his mother had given him when she saw the injuries a couple of nights ago. Now he was ready and did a quick five minute meditation session, getting himself prepared to greet everyone and receive his gifts and wishes of happy birthday.

He walked down the hall, a quick left turn, making a right turn onto the second hallway, and made his way into the common room, which was already bustling with noise of people. As he entered the room, everyone turned to see him and all busted out simultaneously "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NARUTO!" He was almost knocked off his feet and left reeling from the assault, until he felt someone mussing with his hair. He looked in the direction to see Old Man Sarutobi standing there with a happy grin on his face. Naruto embraced the old man, knowing that he didn't mind him being there, one of the few elder people of nobility he actually enjoyed the presence of. Sarutobi wished him a happy birthday and whispered that he had a special gift for him. He heard that all the time from most of the elders that gave him gifts, but coming from Sarutobi it actually meant something. Naruto broke away from the old man, planning to find his father and start with the whole greeting and gesturing thing until he saw a familiar figure standing in front of his father, with light purplish robes, long hair, and, Naruto was pretty confident about this, white eyes. He walked to the man and his father, stood before them both and bowed respectfully to Hyuuga Hiashi. An odd thing happened though as the man, who looked serious and as stuck-up as it comes, chuckled at him. "That will be all of that for today, young boy. It is your day and I have given you a gift that I think should be suitable, as has my daughter."

"Hinata? She's here?" He was actually very interested to know if she were here. This caused the Yondaime's eyebrows to raise. _Looks like my boy has made a friend quite quickly._

"Yes, she sort of 'insisted' she come here." He looked like he rolled his eyes when he said that. After he spoke, as if by magic, Hinata appeared from behind Hiashi, with a small smile on her face as she looked at Naruto. Hiashi moved to give his daughter less cover to hide behind. "Don't be shy, Hinata, come on and say hello to the guest of honor." She clenched her fists but managed to look up at him in the eyes and smiled again, giving a small bow as well.

"H-Happy birthday, Naruto-kun."

"Thank you, Hinata-chan."

_'Chan?' 'Kun?' Hmmm...didn't know those two were that friendly._ He thought it was interesting how all his plans seemed to have unexpected, yet very convenient, positive outcomes. Maybe their presence together in the academy would boost their performance. He would have a discussion about it with Hiashi later over a cup of tea. Then the ominous, yet benign, presence was felt of a familiar figure. _Heh heh heh, he made it. Naruto will get a kick out of this._ He saw that Naruto had noticed it too, for he managed to break away from his and Hinata's gaze and turned to look in the direction and saw the shaggy dark hair, long robes with the red fan on the back, and familiar red eyes of one Uchiha Itachi.

"Itachi-san, you came!" He ran at the Uchiha teen and stopped right in front of him, as Itachi knelt down and started to mess with the blonde boy's hair. He had a genuine smile on his face too, which made Naruto brighten up more. The only person Itachi really cared about a great deal besides his younger brother was Naruto. The boy was a complete opposite to the stuck-ups of the great clans and was truely genuine with his feelings. Itachi actually wouldn't have minded to oversee Naruto's training if it weren't for the fact that he had so many family meetings to attend and then the fact that he was a high-class superior-level ANBU, so he was away and busy a lot of the time. But if he ever got the chance to come by and visit Naruto, he would. He pulled a double time in his most recent mission to make sure he made it back in time for Naruto's birthday, which meant a great deal to the boy. He reached inside his robe and pulled out a package and handed it to him, the dark red packaging giving it an eerie look but so tempting. He looked to his father, who gave the nod and he began to open it.

"I realized how much you liked your gift last year and so I did my best to get something that you would like for this year." What the wrapping covered was a small box. Upon opening it, there was a thick piece of parchment, but he quickly realized it was just because it was folded into many squares. Once he unfolded the paper, which ended up being quite big, he saw that it wasn't just any paper he was holding but a scroll, and this scroll had many notes jostled down everywhere. Giving a look of minor confusion, he looked at Itachi who smiled at him. "That scroll there is all of my notes, from when I was younger. Follow those notes, as well as the guidelines set on it, and you should be able to learn to use somewhat simple techniques that upon mastering, can be used in complex patterns and skills. I believe you will benefit the most from receiving this than my younger brother will." His statement about his younger brother had actually quelled a doubt that was brewing inside of him. He didn't want Itachi to give these to him and not to his little brother but if Itachi thought that Sasuke would be fine without them then who was he to complain. Naruto rolled up the scroll and put it back in the box, beaming the whole time.

The conversations and laughter continued, occasionally hushing every now and then, as someone else handed Naruto a gift. New clothing, scrolls, shoes, a comfy jacket, a new set of kunai and shurikens, and some more furniture. It finally came down to those that mattered. Itachi had to leave, after giving a quick briefing on his mission, wishing Naruto a happy birthday and that was probably the last time he would see him in a month or so, maybe longer. He had yet to receive gifts from Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Hinata (well, the Hyuuga's in general), his mother, and he knew his father wasn't done. Sarutobi walked up to him and handed him a large package, which he opened up, revealing a pair of bracers. They were made of an exquisite design, the steel parts smooth and unbelieveably fine, yet lightweight. It looked like it was worn like an elbow pad but across the forearm and he noticed that there small holsters on the inside portion, which was explained were for kunai that could be accessed a lot more stealthily than for reaching for one out of a holster. Naruto smiled at the old man and received a hand messing with his hair again. _I swear, what is so addictive about my hair._

Next up came Jiraiya, who explained to the whole crowd that he had lost a bet with him and therefore Jiraiya owed him a jutsu, a good one, which he emphasized. "Therefore, my boy, my gift to you is teaching you the Kage Bunshin." Alot of mumbling went on with that announcement and he felt himself becoming red with embarrassment. _Was it his plan to try and impress everyone with the fact that I was going to be learning a jutsu or was he trying to embarrass me?_ He quickly jerked to attention when Hiashi walked up to him. The man who seemed so cold before now seemed less stern. Could he actually be soft under that face?

"I was told by your father that you really haven't been given any assistance in taijutsu, so here you go young one." Naruto took the small package and unwrapped it, which was a book that was filled to the brim with taijutsu steps and procedures, stances and maneuvers, and styles that benefit the young, growing ninja. He smiled with gratitude towards Hiashi and bowed, receiving a bow from him as well. Naruto smiled also at Hinata and thanked her until Hiashi, who had gone back to her side, nudged her towards Naruto. She walked towards him, with a small wrapped package in her hands, and Naruto realized that she had gotten him a separate gift. She handed it to him and he unwrapped it, revealing an amber colored jar with a dark substance inside. Naruto took the top off, being careful not to put too much strain on his hands. Getting the lid off, he was assaulted by the scent of peppermint, as he saw a dark green colored gel was inside the jar. "If I may ask, what is this stuff Hinata-chan?"

"I-If you would take off your bandages, I will show you." Naruto raised his eyebrows at her but did so, very reluctantly, and revealed his disfigured hands for all who could see to lose their lunch. Hinata again blanched at the sight, becoming an even paler color than she already was. She tentatively reached into the jar, putting some ointment on her fingers.

"Th-This might sting, Naruto-kun...a lot" she finished seeing the degree of the damage. Naruto took the loose tape and put it in his mouth, biting down. She began to apply the stuff to Naruto and he bit down hard, almost seeing stars. It burned a great deal but slowly, too slowly for him, it began to calm and the pain just seemed to be leaving. He felt so relieved when she was done moving her fingers across his hand and felt himself blush when he sighed in relief. Some people giggled at the display while others gave little 'awwwww's. Naruto looked at his hand and saw that his skin just seemed to be regaining its 'normal' color and the pain no longer seemed to be there. He quickly unwrapped the other hand and she put on the ointment on that hand too. When she was done, his hands felt so much better. He thanked her, she bowed to him, he bowed to her and she walked back to her father.

The next gift was from his mother, which included a great deal of blank scrolls, writing utensils, holsters, a bag to hold it all and a neat little strap that went across his chest that seemed to hold everything to him. He thanked his mother with a kiss on the cheek and his father came up behind him. Patting him on the shoulders, he turned to the crowd, smiling proudly. "Well everyone, I'd like to go ahead and announce that my boy has expressed a certain desire and I have complied. He will, in four years, hopefully join Konoha's forces as he will be attending the Academy for the next four years." There was a moment that was given so people could clap until he turned to Naruto and the clapping ceased. "My son, that is not all I wish to give you. This is, for me, a very proud moment and I'm happy for you and with this great day I wish to give you this." He handed him a scroll (_what is the deal with the scrolls this year_) and Naruto took it, opening it and seeing only one line on the parchment. "That, my son, is the family secret treasure. You, and only you, can read the contents. I'll explain the details later but for now, let us move to the dining room for some tea and cake, why don't we?"

The bustling of people moving to the said room was quite noisy but Naruto didn't care, right now he just wanted to find Hinata, the only person he could relate to and have a conversation with. He was ecstatic that he was going to be going to the ninja academy and it was a bonus that she would be there as well, if he was correct. He found her and joined her by her side. They talked a little, her trying to explain the medicine she used on him but he really didn't understand the full concept behind it. Just conversing about ordinary things, they didn't realize that they had ended up sitting next to each other at the massive table, with their father's seated rather coincidentally across from them. They had an interesting conversation as well, the Yondaime trying to convince Hiashi to send Hinata to the academy just a little bit early so that they could go together. The Yondaime's theory was that they might help each other out. Hiashi, after a while of sitting there, watching his daughter smile at the boy and converse with him, began to believe him and decided that he agreed that it might be the best thing. He didn't want his daughter to become dependant on anybody, especially the boy, but it wouldn't hurt for them to start at the same time. Yondaime smiled, content, and continued to sip his tea and eat his slice of cake, being a complete sucker for the sweets.

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The guests started to file out around 4 pm, which Naruto was very grateful of since his cheeks were sore from all the fake smiles he gave to the unwanted guests. As the 'unimportant ones left,' Naruto was able to spend some time with just the people he wanted to spend time with. He actually got a visit by Hatake Kakashi, who seemed to have a complex with appearing on time. The tall man with spiky silver hair and the hitai-ite with the Konoha symbol on it covering his left eye and a mask covering his lower face gave the man a mysterious feel. What amused Naruto about Kakashi was that he always seemed to joke around and was playful, like a little kid, despite the fact that he was around twenty or so. Kakashi and Itachi were in the same caliber of ninja, both joining the ANBU at an outrageously young age and being extremely powerful as two of the most feared and revered of all the Konoha nin. Kakashi gave the boy a card with a simple phrase on it: 'Times are tough, Life is Hard, Here's your feckin birthday card.' Inside the card were five notes that stated that he could eat three bowls of ramen for free, for each note, at Ichiraku. He thanked Kakashi, who, Naruto guessed, smiled back and went to the Yondaime to discuss something. His father was talking with Sarutobi, Jiraiya, and Hiashi, and when Kakashi joined in, they huddled together, speaking in low voices, laughing about certain things, and taking sips of tea or sake, depending on who it was that was drinking what.

Naruto looked around and saw Hinata talking with his mother and he just stood there watching, smiling, not realizing that his mother noticed him. "Naruto, dear, how about you take the young girl and show her around the house while I help attend to the dishes?" His mouth dropped a little, his voice lost, wanting to protest, but sighed defeatedly and nodded, which was rewarded by her warm smile. He nodded his head at Hinata, who bowed slightly, causing him to groan, and walked over to her and continued out of the room. "I told you you don't have to be so formal with me" he muttered to her with just a little hint of agitation. Twists and turns, lefts and rights, and a lot of simple minded explanations. He explained to her that the bedrooms were meant for his family but most of them were traveling right now around Fire Country, so alot of them were empty. There were three unassigned guestrooms and eleven occupied bedrooms, though only three were in use right now with him, his parents, and Jiraiya, who decided to stay with them since he agreed to oversee his training. Hinata was impressed with the simplicity, yet striking elegance, of the house he lived in and was surprised when she saw his room. Naruto was a little uneasy with her going into his room, not because he didn't want people in there, but because his room might be offensive or unimpressive. But once she stepped in, she was in awe of all the decorative features in the room: the artwork on the walls, the specially made furniture, the wookwork that had gems made into it, and surprisingly, the bed. She actually ran up to it and jumped on it, bouncing a little to test its softness.

"Your room is a lot bigger than mine is, Naruto-kun. A lot nicer stuff too." Naruto now felt guilty that he had shown her, afraid that it was offensive to her. "Your bed is much bigger than mine and you have all the art around your room. I'm jealous."

"My room isn't all that special. I mean, come on, you have to have much better stuff than this, your family is much more well known that you should have received a lot of nice things from allies of your father."

"W-Well, my father doesn't r-really approve of me having exotic material around. I...I think he is afraid I m-might dishonor him or something." She bit her lip as he saw her feet fidgeting.

"Well...I don't know your father all that much, but if he were afraid of anything, I'm assuming he would be afraid that you would become materialistic but I don't know. My father doesn't really care since he knows I don't care about all this stuff too much." He saw her look a bit shocked that he would say that and so he continued. "All these gifts, Hinata," he said to her motioning through his whole room, "are from stuck-ups and stiffs that want nothing else than favors from my father. That's all they are and I for one can't stand that. These aren't sincere gifts, like your ointment. They are tokens given in a manner that will hopefully please my father and make him more accustomed to lending them some assistance, if required. I only keep it around so that I don't disappoint my mother. She's sweet and all, but she's dense if she thinks that these are all heart-felt gifts. I like the gifts that actually mean something, from people who are meaningful to me. Itachi, Sarutobi, Jiraiya, Kakashi, you, Mom, and Dad had the only gifts that really meant anything to me. By the way, thanks again."

She blushed and smiled warmly at the compliment that her gift had meant something special to him. "Y-You're welcome. How does your hand feel? I wasn't sure if I did it right but I had no way of testing it without an injury to test it on."

"It worked great, Hinata-chan. My hands hurt so badly, you couldn't imagine, but the pain is now almost completely gone. I only feel a tenderness where my skin hasn't regrown yet." Yet another blanched look from Hinata but she still smiled at his compliment. "So I'm going to the ninja academy too." he said to her with a huge grin plastered on his face, proud that he would be getting the chance to become one of his village's finest. Hinata smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgement, secretly happy that he was to attend the academy. "When are you starting?"

"Um...I guess when father tells me so although he might make me wait till I am nine as well."

"When is your birthday, Hinata-chan?"

"U-um...D-December the 27th. W-Why?"

"Oh. No reason. It's just you knew when mine was so I figured I should know when your's was. Hey, wanna see my favorite part of the house?" She nodded and he took her hand, guiding her through the hallways and ended at a section of the house that opened up into the 'Meditation Garden.' She smiled and breathed in deep, taking in the luscious feel of the area. There were semi-tall trees and bushes and the grass was neat and trim, yet very lush. There were flowers of an assortment of colors, ranging from yellow to white to red to purple to blue and to green. In the middle was a fountain, with a small pond, and she ran up to the water, putting her fingertips into the water to test it's temperature.

"This is nice, it's just like ours at the house." she said as she walked over to the different colored flowers, sniffing each one and releasing a satisfied sigh as each one smelled wonderful. Naruto just chuckled at her enthusiasm for such a simple thing as flower scents, peace, and tranquility.

"Yeah, this is the only place that is usually quiet enough for me to meditate without being disturbed. If my mind is ever cloudy I just come here, sit down, and look up at the sky." His face held a sort of calmness as he recalled all the times he would come here when he was younger and just get to be to himself. He unkowingly had sat down and started to look up at the sky and let the tranquil nature this place exuded wash over him. Hinata had come a bit closer to him and started to do the same thing, looking at the sky, curling her knees up into her chest, and continuing to breath in the atmosphere of the place. Unknown to the kids, their father figures had found them and chuckled silently at the sight. Naruto, who felt their presence, instantly became annoyed that his father was finding amusement from him enjoying his birthday.

"You know, you're not as stealthy as you would like to think you are, dad." he told him, shifting his weight so that he could look behind him without putting too much strain on his neck. He noticed Hinata had stood up, brushing grass remnants from her clothing, and he was slightly annoyed more that their appearance had actually ruined his time with her. The short time he had come to know her, he thought of her as his friend, possibly his first. Itachi, who was young and somewhat close to him in age, acted more like a brother would than a friend. Naruto stood up as well, looking at his and Hinata's fathers, especially Hiashi, since he seemed to be trying to take into account something that wasn't physically tangible and make an accurate judgment, whatever it may be. Hinata shifted uncomfortably under his gaze and started to dig her bare toes in the grass, her sandals probably were in his room when she discarded them so she could jump on his bed without being disrespectful to his furniture. It was then that Hiashi cleared his throat and looked at the man next to him, who returned the gaze and was received by a nod from Hiashi, which made him smile back at Hiashi and then to the youngsters, who had a mixed reaction to it but both being out of uncomfort. Hinata lowered her head, blushing slightly at such a strong smile being directed from the leader of the village; Naruto, however, slumped in his posture, breathing out a deep sigh of exasperation for his father's stupid and overdone mannerisms. It was Hiashi's voice that broke both the kids from their trance, making them jump slightly.

" Ahem I think this will be all for today. I must get back to the manor and do some of the paperwork. Naruto-san, I wish you a farewell and hope that your birthday was enjoyable. Come, Hinata."

"Hai, Otou-san." she said as she walked to her father but then noticed that she was missing her footwear, as the grass continued to tickle her feet. "Oh, I-I left my sandals in Naruto's room" she said to her father, "I will go get them if you will wait for me a moment."

"Let my boy escort you then, the house can be a maze if you don't live here. Naruto, would you-"

"Yeah, yeah, I will. Come on, Hinata-chan." he said cutting off his father, who just smiled back at him and watched as he and Hinata left to retrieve her shoes.

"You seem unusually happy today, Hokage-sama. Something else is here than meets the eye. Would you care to enlighten me?" Hiashi asked him wondering what he could be so thrilled with. It was true it was his son's birthday and it wasn't unnatural for the Yondaime to be hyper or happy, but it seemed to be different today.

"I'm just happy that my boy has found a child his age who can be his first true friend. The only other person he ever addresses with an informal suffix added to it is Uchiha Itachi, who has taken a certain fondness of him. Your daughter is the first person his age who he has met and addresses on such a friendly level. I feel them being in the academy at the same time is going to help out with both of them. They will probably push each other to be better and defeat each other's weaknesses. Don't you think so?"

"You seem to have faith in not just your boy's ability but my daughter's, and you do not much of her progression."

"I have not been able to train with my boy and help him as much as I have wanted to but Jiraiya has been doing well with him. He reports that Naruto has a certain knack for some things, like chakra control." he told Hiashi, who responded with a raised eyebrow, wondering what the level might be and if it was close to the branch family's prodigy. "And I'm sure that your daughter has a great deal of talent and ability that just needs a little bit of time to surface."

"Time," Hiashi spoke as his words were laced with disappointment, "is a luxury the elders won't give so easily. They have heard that my youngest daughter, Hanabi, seems to show more promise than Hinata has and are pushing for me to make a decision on which one would make a better heir-apparent. It is Hinata's right to be the leader when she is grown but if the elders of the clan do not respect her then...I just do not want her to go through the same things her mother did." His face had become saddened as he recalled what had happened to his beautiful wife, the horrible way she was treated by the family, and he did not want any of their children to go through the torment that she must have gone through. "If only there was a way that I could break through that layer of inferiority that has become established within her psyche, then she might be able to make some serious progress with her training."

"That is the very reason you should let her go to the academy with my boy. He has a certain feel about him that just seems to grab at people and change them for the better. Itachi was a cold loner, diligently doing his missions and returning to his family to train or do family business. Now, he frequents our house when he manages the time between his duties and treats Naruto as if he were his little brother as well. My sensei, Jiraiya, had no desire to have any more apprentices after me but he warmed up to Naruto and decided to oversee his training from when he was young. Your daughter seems to have had the same effect on my boy and I think that he will have a positive effect on her." As he said this, Hiashi thought about all the words the Yondaime had said, continuing to let it stew in his mind, wondering if it was a good thing to let the Hokage's son partner with the heir of the Hyuuga's. But it did sound like it might be the best thing, the Ninja Academy would allow her to get out and see how other ninjas work and train and maybe let that shield of hers be broken away as others her age surrounded the young girl. He closed his eyes as he pondered the possibilities and then opened them, coming to a conclusion.

It was at this moment that Naruto and Hinata had returned, both giggling as Naruto had finished telling Hinata about how he got back Jiraiya the other day for all the times the old man had woken him up with water on the head. They saw their father's still conversing, although it looked like Hiashi was deep in thought. The men turned to see their children looking and Hiashi had something unexpected on his face, a warm smile.

"O-Otou-san, I'm ready." she said as she was taken aback by the sudden appearance of warmth across her father's usually stern and cold face.

"As am I, but before we leave, I wish to ask of a favor of you, Naruto." Naruto looked at the man, as he was also taken aback by Hinata's father. Not for the smile on his face, though it didn't seem to settle right on the man's face - after seeing the man with such an unflinchingly cold face, a smile just seemed to be out of place, like a luscious apple tree in a barren desert - but it was the fact that the man wanted to ask him of a favor.

"Uh, yes sir?"

"I have been informed that you will start attending the academy by the beginning of next week by your father. If you would, would you be willing to come to our manor on that same morning?"

"Uhhhh...I guess I could...but why would you want that?" Now his interest was piqued. If what Hiashi was getting at was what Naruto thought it was then he was going to be ecstatic.

"It is just that I would like for my daughter to have a familiar person with her on her first day so that she won't be so nervous. I think you being there will help her to not be so apprehensive on her first day at the academy. So would you?"

Naruto's grin exploded all over his face and he couldn't contain himself. He would be going to the academy, he found that out at the beginning of his day. And now, seemingly at the end of his 'special' day, he found out that he would be attending with his new friend. He was overjoyed that this day went so well. Hiashi was amused by the boy's reaction and by his daughter's too. It looked as though she were happy that she would be going to the academy with Naruto and when Naruto grabbed her hands and started to jump excitedly, trying to get her to join him, he chuckled at the sight feeling that he had made the smartest decision in his life.

After he finally calmed down, releasing Hinata, who was blushing from the display she had just seen and shown - she had joined in with him a few seconds after he started, his energy being contagious afterall - and looked to her father to see if he disapproved. On the contrary, he was smiling still, but the Yondaime had his right up to his chin, rubbing it while looking at her and Naruto, chuckling slightly. Naruto had put his hand behind his head, scratching it, with a blush of his own across his face that he had acted like such a 'child' in front of his father and Hinata's father.

"I thought that that would make my daughter happy. If I knew it would make you so happy, Naruto, then I would have done that as my gift." he said as he chuckled lightly at his own joke. "So I am to take your response as a yes?" Naruto nodded, still embarrassed for the way he acted. After that, he, Hinata, his father, and her father made their way to the front of the house, discussing the small arrangements that were already made for an escort for the both of them. They decided on a woman by the name of Yuhi Kurenei, who had agreed to be Hinata's escort when she was younger. They needed to be at the academy by 8 A.M. exactly, which would mean Naruto would have to wake up earlier now. He didn't mind right now, but he figured it would eventually become a nuisance. When they reached the front door, Hiashi and Hinata bid their farewells, wishing him another happy birthday before they walked out of the house and back to their homes. Naruto, after seeing the door close, making sure that they might not hear them, pumped his fist into the air, shouting "YATTA!" His voice rung out from that area throughout the entire building, it seemed, but only got smiles from the remaining visitors, who were Kakashi, Jiraiya (who didn't count as a guest), and Sarutobi. The rest of the evening was spent with him putting all his stuff into places in his room, not really worrying where or how is was placed there, the only things he really kept around were all the scrolls and books, as well as Hinata's medicine, which was put on the bedside table where his annoying-ass alarm clock sat. He realized now that he would need that damn thing more than ever to avoid being woken up by his father or Jiraiya.

The next few days were like a blur, moving so fast as he attempted to learn the jutsu Jiraiya promised to teach him, which happened to be a jounin level technique called 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.' One handseal, but damn it was hard to do this jutsu for it required not the expert use of the handseals but a much larger amount of chakra than what Naruto was used to using. Plus it had something to do with how the user visualized the results. Apparently, you needed to tell yourself how many bunshins you wanted to make and then look into your chakra stores and split it accordingly. The difficulty with this was, he just didn't know how to do something that complex yet. He was told by Jiraiya that it would probably take him about a year, maybe a little more or possibly a little less, to learn how to do this. It might take until he was through with the four years in the academy before he finally got the hang of using the technique to anywhere close to its full potential. Patience was the key and Naruto just seemed to lack that when he couldn't do something in the amount of time he wanted. The big day was fast approaching and he was getting more and more anxious about his first day at the academy. His bags were packed, pouches filled accordingly with a number of kunai and shuikens, and blank parchments and scrolls filled into the pockets of his backpack for the academy.

_'Tomorrow...tomorrow is the day I take the next step towards my goal.'_

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Thank you for putting up with this chapter P I was a little surprised with where I took this chapter myself, thinking it to be too kiddie but who knows. Anyways, the next chapter is already in the works of being posted. Just give me a day or two, that's all. Once again, thank you for your views and reviews. I appreciate it and hope you keep with my story. It will have one or two more chapters of explanatory information and plot building. But, if you have checked out my profile, I am a firm believer that a story that has three to four chapters of foundation will prove to have a more fertile setting and therefore, the plot will be more acceptable. So hopefully everyone will hang around and see my story through till the plot picks up. Thank you and good night.

Chapter three is about the first day of school. Just what will the Ninja Academy be like to the new students and how will they fit in? Stay tuned for the next installment, coming soon.


	3. Chapter 3

This is the next chapter of my story, once again updated quickly. I decided to write a few chapters early before I posted the story initially. I have this chapter and one more but I need to double-check the fourth one before I post it.

To one of my reviewers, Saotome Kyuubi, I'd like to address something you spoke about me. Thank you for the criticism. As I've said I like contructive criticism and will take it when needed. I do regret that I wrote some things into that chapter that may seem unimportant but you would be surprised how much I refer back to these early chapters when I get into the later ones. Almost everything in the first three or four chapters, I will be referring back to in later chapters. So while it may seem like mindless ramblings from an inexperienced writer on the website (which is proven by the fact I accidentally deleted my second chapter after I posted it...P ), it is somewhat necessary for future references.

And now, without further ado, I present the first day of school for our little Naruto-kun.

Chapter 3 - The Academy

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_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! _

_'Ugh...that damn noise...the bane of my existence.'_ With a loud smack, Naruto punched his alarm clock, effectively hitting all the buttons, and by coincidence turning off the alarm. Sitting up in his bed, he breathed in the morning air, as it flew into his room from the window on the far side of his room. Naruto could feel the autumn winds and it sent shivers down him but he shrugged it off, not wanting to be late. Naruto needed to be out of the house and be at the Hyuuga manor by 7:30 am and it was already 7 o'clock even. Kicking out his legs over the side of the bed, he slipped his feet into his warm morning slippers, grabbing a change of clothes and making his way to the shower room down the hall. He turned on the water to let it get warm as he undid the bandages on his hand. They were still sore from his attempting of the technique Jiraiya taught him before his birthday and he had still been practicing it even while trying to learn the Kage Bunshin. His father's advice on not using so much chakra helped reduce the negative results but with the increase of the spin's velocity, it still ended up burning his palms. He went back to his room while the water was still running and grabbed the medicinal salve from his nightstand. He opened the jar and stuck in a couple fingers at a time, applying it to one hand at a time, and carefully rubbed it into his raw hands. After doing that, he resealed the jar, placed it back on the nightstand, and went back to the shower room, and taking off the rest of his clothes, took a quick shower.

After getting out of the water, the cool air attacking his skin and making the moisture that remained on him feel like it was frozen to him. He was thankful that the medicinal cream worked as fast as it did, for he was very sure the water in the shower, no matter what temperature, would have made him see stars. And despite the fact that he did clean his wounded hands, they still smelled of the peppermint in the cream. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, he quickly dressed himself in a plain black t-shirt and orange windbreaker pants with black stripes going down the outer sides of the legs. He wore black shoes/boots that he tightened to him with the laces on his shins. After putting on his windbreaker jacket, which was also orange, with black stripes and lines around the edges of the sleeves and body and red counterclockwise rotational designs on his shoulders and on the back, he grabbed his backpack and put in on, making the contents rattle around inside. He made his way to the kitchen, which had a familiar odor radiating from it. The heavenly scent could only be coming from one thing, the instant ramen cups he had fallen in love with for the easy on-the-go meal.

"Well good morning, my son. Are you already prepared to leave for the Academy?" His mother's voice was light and dainty, nothing like his father's obnoxious vocals that echoed across the entire house. Once again dressed in a morning robe, her hair hanging down to her midback and her face held a warmth in it that never seemed to dissipate, no matter the circumstances. _How can she be so happy this early in the morning? It's unnatural._ His mother walked to the table with two rather large cups that looked like they were made for sipping herbal teas and broths, but instead were filled with ramen noodles and the boiled water to make the broth. He reached for the chopsticks on the table, held in a little wooden cup, broke them apart, chanted the ceremonial "Itadakimasu" and dove into the ramen noodles. His extravagant eating habits would probably be considered a world-class sin if he were in any of the other noble families, bring shame to their ancestors with the horrendous slurping noises he made as he hungrily swallowed his first whole cup of ramen in a span of two minutes. The next cup was gone in a slightly longer time frame - two and a half minutes.

He smiled contently at his mother, said his goodbye to her and made his way to the front door to leave, when a yellow blur appeared in front of him. "And just where do you think you are going in such a hurry? Hmm?" There was a thin line between teasing and annoying when it came to Naruto's father, and right now, while his father would think he was teasing him, Naruto thought that his father was being annoying.

"You know damn well where I'm going. I need to go to the Academy alright?" His father didn't move or didn't show any sign that he acknowledged what had been said.

"Hmmm...yes I recall me saying you could go today. The thing is, I thought it came with a stipulation? If I'm correct, you are supposed to do something before going to the Academy. Am I right or have you forgotten?" Naruto now understood. His father was making sure he didn't forget to go to the Hyuuga's house first to be accompanied by that Kurenai lady and Hinata.

"Yes, yes, I know, but I won't make it in time if you don't move your ass father."

"Such language is unfitting from you, my boy; especially, since those words may fall upon such innocent ears as your new friend, Hinata. Be respectful of your manners and be respectful of those around you. Your teacher is your sensei from now on, understand? Do everything he says, no matter what, and behave. Now go on, Naruto, before you are late." With that he ruffled his son's hair and walked away out of the greeting area and made his way towards the kitchen where his wife surely was. _I'm proud of you Naruto. Now go and become stronger._

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Naruto ran as fast as he could, pumping chakra into his legs to assist in his progress. His house was somewhat close to the Hyuuga's mansion, but he wasn't fast like the adults were, so it still took a bit of time to get there. As he approached the entrance, he saw a lady with long, wavy hair and red eyes making her way into the complex. _She might be the escort since her eyes aren't that of the Hyuuga clan._ _I wonder if she is related to Itachi by any chance?_ When he reached the main gate, the guards looked at him questioningly until the person who they just let in turned around, hearing the guards ask someone of their business. When she saw that it was a young blonde boy with a backpack on and raggedy blonde hair, she knew who it was. "Don't worry guys, he was told to meet me and Hinata-sama here. I am his escort too. If you need to check, you can go get Hiashi, but he'd be mad at you for not letting Uzumaki Naruto in here to begin with." They instantly tensed upon hearing the boy's name, being given instructions to allow him in when he arrived. They opened the gates and he walked in a little apprehensively at first, shuffling uncomfortably towards the escort.

"Thanks, those guys' eyes always creep me out and I just couldn't say anything. Are you Yuuhi Kurenai?" She turned to him and nodded with a smile on her face that was very sweet and welcoming. "Um...if you don't mind me asking, your eyes are red I noticed. Are you related to Itachi-san in anyway?"

Kurenai thought she was going to fall flat on her face when she heard that question. She instead laughed whole-heartedly, amused by the boy's innocent question. "No, Naruto, I am not related to him. My eyes are like this because they run in my family." Naruto gave her a curious glance and quickly took in her appearance. She appeared to be quite young, he thought, since her skin showed no signs of age whatsoever. Her cheeks held a rosy hue to them and her hair was long, going down to her mid-back and was black. Her shirt was sleeveless with straps that came over her shoulders and tucked into her skirt, which came to about mid thigh on her long legs. She was taller than him, obviously, since the top of his head came to her to the middle of her upper body. They walked through the compound and came upon a bench in the clearing. She motioned for him to sit there and wait while she went and retrieved Hinata and spoke very quickly with Hinata's father. He nodded, sat down, and looked up at the sky. After a few moments of waiting, he heard footsteps approaching him and thought it was them returning. "About time, we might be late if..." but he stopped when he saw who was actually there. A boy who looked to be roughly around the same age as him but had the white eyes of the Hyuugas. What was more unnerving about him was the scowl that seemed to be etched on his face.

"What are you doing on our premises?" His voice was laced with malice and Naruto wondered if this boy had some sort of problem with him. Another thing Naruto noticed was that it wasn't a question the boy had asked, it was a demand.

"I was invited to be here. I'm waiting on my and Hinata's escort to come back with Hinata so that we can go to the academy. So I will _ask_ you to back away before I make you do so." With that the boy's face went from anger to amusement as he put on a smug smirk and looked at him.

"You...are the son of the Hokage, aren't you?" Once again, not a question, but an observation. "Hmm...fine, I can afford to be late." he then took off his backpack and tossed it to the side, stepped back a few paces, and got into a fighting stance. "Come on, you will be a great morning warm-up." Naruto had had it with the smug attitude. _This guy is just itching to get his ass kicked, isn't he?_

"Fine, you asked for it. Just remember, you initiated the confrontation. So don't go crying to Hiashi-sama when I defeat you." Naruto took his backpack off and set it on the ground and got into his own stance. The boy in front of him tightened up his form and was probably about to come after him when a sudden gasp came from the main house of the compound. Naruto's opponent calmed down and loosened up his stance and chuckled smugly.

"Be thankful for my cousin's interruption. If not for her...you would be dead." The last words rang through his mind as he noticed Hinata staring at him and this boy, who said he was her cousin. He shuddered as the the last four words continued to ring through his head. _Why do I feel that...he would've been right?_ The boy walked to pick back up his bag, threw a spiteful look at Naruto and ran towards the gate, jumping over it instead of waiting for the guards to open it. Naruto now looked towards Hinata to see her jogging over to him while looking worried.

"Naruto, are you okay? Why were you and my brother about to fight?"

"Brother? He said you were his cousin." He was confused and wasn't trying to hide it. _Did I miss something here or did my brain just decide to hear something else?_

"He...He is my cousin...but I think of him as a brother and so...yeah." she said softly, trailing off at the end.

"Ahhhh, okay. I'm surprised he's related to you in any way. He looks a lot more _aggressive_ than you do. He seems mean as hell." Hinata giggled at his words.

"He...is a little bitter sometimes. Why were you two about to fight each other?" Naruto then told her everything real quickly and finished precisely as Kurenai approached them. Hinata was horrified by the fact that her brother, who Naruto had learned was Neji, had told Naruto he would have died if they fought each other.

"Is he that strong, Hinata?"

"Neji-nii-san is very strong Naruto-kun, despite his age. He's considered the clan's prodigy." Naruto gulped audibly as a bead of sweat came down his face. Kurenai patted him on the shoulders to get his attention and told them they had only 8 minutes to make it to the academy on time.

They were going to have to hustle to make it and she thought that that would be uncouth of her to do that to them. Asking them to gather around her, she performed a few quick hand seals and everything seemed to twist around them. One minute they were at the Hyuuga compound, and the next minute they were in front of a rather large looking building, with many kids gathered all around, talking to each other and laughing. A number of them stopped whatever it was they were doing and looked at them. Naruto found himself to be rather uncomfortable under their gaze. He wondered if Hinata was as uncomfortable as he was. By the way she was poking her fingers together, then yes she was. Kurenai cleared her throat to get both of her attendants to focus and she walked towards the doors of the building, Naruto and Hinata following closely behind her. He heard whispers come from the other young kids around him, some snickering, others looking at them and trying to judge them. He and Hinata weren't just some pieces of meat to be viewed and judged as inferior or superior. He swore he heard some of the kids mumble something about "Hyuuga heir" and "blonde haired boy" and he just couldn't wait for the inevitable introduction. If they felt that they had stuff to gossip about now, just wait till that glorious moment when they could be seen as who they actually were.

Kurenai giggled at the reaction of Hinata and Naruto to the gazes of their fellow classmates. _If they think this is bad, then they haven't seen anything yet._ They continued to walk down a large hall with lockers along the walls. The premises of the academy appeared to be huge, but the building wasn't all that large, being only one floor, and with a few doors that probably led into classrooms. Kurenai stopped at one of the doors, knocking on it, and moving her hand to the doorknob to await opening it. When they heard someone from the inside say 'Come in', she opened the door, and led Naruto and Hinata into the room.

It was rather large, much bigger than Naruto's room, and was quite spacious, despite the numerous desks. On one side was a large board, probably for writing notes and the such, with a desk that looked much the same as his father's desk in the Hokage's Tower. It had a small desk lamp, numerous papers, a few folders, a notepad, and a tray for holding pencils and pens, all strewn across the desk in an orderly manner. Seated behind this desk was a man with a cross-shaped scar on his face, with dark skin complexion, a Konoha headband, what looked to be a dark shirt of some kind with a heavy looking green vest over it, which Naruto noticed was the vest awarded to Chuunins. The man's hair was also dark, probably black, but Naruto didn't pay that much attention to that little detail. He was more interested in the fact that the man wasn't even looking at them and was, instead, scribbling something down on the notepad. When he finally finished, he put the pencil down enthusiastically, breathed out "Finally" out of satisfaction, and then looked at them while smiling.

"I'm sorry about that, I was just finishing up some quick notes on today's curriculum. So, you must be Yuuhi Kurenai, which means these young ones are the new students I was told I would be teaching. Hyuuga Hinata," she nodded at him with a faint blush appearing on her cheeks, "and Uzumaki Naruto," which earned him a slight nod from the boy. "My name is Umino Iruka and I will be your teacher for your duration in the academy. I must say that I am rather happy that your fathers decided to put you into the academy at this point. You can now join my most recent class and not be too far behind the rest of the students. The students will be coming into the building any moment now and going to their seats, so if you would, just stay here by my desk until they fill in completely. Then I will ask you to introduce yourselves to the others. Nothing spectacular, just a simple introduction, and then we will begin." He smiled at them but they did not return it.

Naruto's early premonition was correct and he hated it when he was right. He saw out of the corner of his eyes that Hinata looked to be mortified. Her head was lowered so that she appeared to be looking at the ground and she was fidgeting with her clothing. He hadn't taken the time to really pay attention to it, probably since it seemed so plain on her. A tannish-brown colored jacket covering her entire upper body and baggy dark pants with ordinary sandals. It was as though she were trying to look as unimportant as possible. Naruto thought to himself that it might have worked if it weren't for her eyes. His concentration was broken by Kurenai, who patted them on the shoulders, startling the poor girl, and telling them she would see them tomorrow. "Have fun, kids." she spoke in a mocking voice, with a hint of amusement, as she disappeared in a burst of red petals. It left an oddly soothing scent of fragrant flowers in the aftermath. They were then interrupted, once again, by kids entering the classroom, some not paying any attention to them, some giving them odd glances and looks, as they all went to the previously unoccupied desks on the other side of the room. There were five rows, each with around eight desks, and all fourty or so desks seemed to fill up with the exception of two, which were probably added to the row at the front just for them. Iruka, their teacher, stood up while clearing his throat. The commotion from the talking and laughing ceased shortly after and they all paid attention to him.

"Good morning, class" and the students responded in unison, "Ohayo, sensei" which surprised Naruto and made Hinata jump slightly. "We have two new students joining us today." He then looked at them and said in a slightly lower voice, "Go ahead, you two." Naruto grumbled and stepped forward a little bit, gazing around the class. Some of them were already whispering and snickering, as they pointed fingers at him or Hinata.

"Um, hey. Hello, my name is Uzumaki Naruto" and the commotion built up again. Some didn't react until others whispered into their ears, probably telling them that he was the Hokage's son. His father's last name was not a very well known thing, since everyone seemed to just refer to him as Hokage or Yondaime. Naruto never said his name properly like that and always called him dad or father. Even his mother called him 'dear' or 'honey.'

Iruka punched the desk and shouted at the class to be respectful of their fellow classmates and not interrupt their introduction. He motioned for Naruto to continue. "What! You want me to give them a biography of my life or something?" he asked him in a lower voice, spilling with sarcasm. "Just tell them a little bit about you, that's all. Just a little." Naruto groaned but complied.

"Yes, if you haven't figured it out yet, I am the Hokage's son but I'm gonna go ahead and ask that nobody...PLEASE...treat me any differently you would anyone else here. I enjoy ramen, love to train and spar, and meditate in peaceful surroundings. You're up, Hinata" he said to the girl, nudging her in the side, making her jump slightly again, and walking to a seat at the front of the class. More whispers and some giggling came from the kids as he took his seat and looked upon Hinata, as she struggled to speak to the class.

"U-um...hello, my name i-is Hyuuga Hinata. I-I like to see those around me happy and dislike meaningless confrontations...and..." but she just sort of cut herself off and shuffled to take the seat next to him. He smiled at her, hoping to perk her up but she just continued to look out of it. Iruka walked up to them, handing both of them thick textbook and gave everyone orders to turn to page 37 in the book, where they learned about the benefits of meditation and how it can amplify the effectiveness of a shinobi in certain situations. After an hour of that, he called for them to exit the room via the doors at the back of the rooms at the top of the stairs. They walked into an open area, filled with logs that had targets painted on them or had training mats put on them for practicing striking. He told them to just choose a spot on the ground but give each other enough space so that no one is bumping against one another or feeling uncomfortable. Naruto took a spot on the grass close to a boy with big hair, a plain white shirt, a brown jacket that was unzipped, and brown pants. Naruto noticed that Hinata had come by as well and joined him. _I admit she's cool and all and I consider her one of my friends, but that doesn't mean I want to be joined to her at the hip. Is she really that uncomfortable around others that she needs me for familiarity._ She took a seat, sitting in indian-style, as was everyone else, including him, and all awaited instructions.

"Alright everyone, we're going to practice meditation. I want you all to envision a comfortable place in your mind, close your eyes, and think you are in that very place. Once you are there, I want you to concentrate and tell yourself that you will improve today. Okay? Good, now open your eyes." Everyone did and looked around, some slightly amused at the fact that they were doing meditation, others just bored. "Okay then, everyone find a partner, we're going to be practicing taijutsu." Naruto knew who he was going to pair up with, not because he didn't want to upset her, but because he was interested to see how good Hinata was. She looked like she might be a little fragile when she wore her kimonos but with this simple attire on her, she looked like she was a fighter, even though she did have those nervous habits of hers.

"You wanna partner up, Hinata?" She looked at him innocently and Naruto didn't know whether or not he could possibly spar with her at full power. He'd feel like a bully.

"U-um...okay, Naruto-kun." She was slightly happy that she didn't have to ask him, because she didn't want to ask anyone else that she didn't know. She was now very thankful her father asked for Naruto to accompany her on their first day. She would have been mortified if she didn't know him or anyone else at the academy. Iruka, after seeing that everyone had a partner, not at all surprised to see Naruto and Hinata paired up, assigned each group to a log and let them work on their taijutsu basics with either the training logs or each other.

Naruto could see that all the other kids were performing simple moves: quick palm thrusts or punches, sweeps and midbody kicks, and palm-handed blocks. He and Hinata did the same things, just simple taijutsu, but gradually increased the speed and force. Iruka watched them carefully and noted that they both seemed to have benefitted from their families training methods. After another hour of this, he told them to practice their aiming for when they throw kunais and shurikens. Naruto's aim wasn't bad but it wasn't all that great either. Same went for Hinata but she did better than he did. Naruto saw that everyone seemed to be paying a bit more attention to a boy with black hair, a blue shirt with a red fan on the back, and whitish khaki shorts. His accuracy was a lot better than anyone elses, hitting inside of the target zone everytime. He never hit a bulls-eye but he came close a couple of times. Naruto recognized the design on the back of the shirt as belonging to the Uchiha's and put two and two together. _He must be Itachi's little brother, Sasuke._

After a while of doing this, Iruka called for lunch and told them all to be back in class in an hour exactly. Naruto took this chance to find out some things. He figured the boy he had sat close to when meditating would do fine. He expected Hinata to follow him, but she was instead stopped by a thin girl with long blonde hair and calm blue eyes. Naruto figured that hanging around with the other students and not hanging around with him all the time would do her some good to overcome her nervousness. He felt bad for the girl during her introduction, she seemed so horrified about introducing herself. He hoped that she will be able to defeat that weakness of hers since it is not a rather good trait with the shinobi lifestyle.

As he followed the kids to the lunch area, he saw them all eating lunches that they had brought and cursed himself for not asking about that himself. Now he was gonna starve for the next few hours or so until he could go home and devour the rest of the instant ramen supply. Naruto shrugged off the fact he had no lunch and instead hunted down that boy he had targeted. He saw him sitting underneath a tree, munching on a rice ball and staring up at the sky. Walking over to the boy, he got a couple more odd looks and snickers and was becoming more and more perturbed by the behavior of his fellow peers.

"Hey there, mind if I join ya?" he asked the boy. The said boy peered at him with one eye, giving him a quick look over.

"Sure, if you want. I don't really care." the boy answered lazily. His voice was very dull and boring. Naruto accepted the half-hearted reply and sat down in the tree's shade.

"Soooooo...what's your name?"

"Ugh...introductions are so troublesome. Nara Shikamaru. Just call me Shikamaru, alright?" Naruto couldn't help but find how agitated Shikamaru was to be humerous. _Introductions are so troublesome? I think I like this guy already._

"So...you just started too? You look like, despite your lackedazical manner, to be rather experienced and so I was just hoping you might be able to help me out with a couple of things."

"You know, kid, that's what instructors are for, right?" Naruto chuckled at his response again.

"Yeah, I know that, but now I'm having fun agitating you. The name's Naruto, by the way. I'm guessing you were the one who was snoring in the classroom, right?" Shikamaru smiled at that, amused by how astute Naruto was.

"Class can just be boring sometimes and sleep is a more acceptable waste of my time than book study. To answer your first question, yes I recently started, as did everyone else. If you want to know anything else-"

"Ask somebody besides him." finished a chubby little boy, who walked from behind the tree. "Right, Shikamaru?"

"Hey there, Chouji. Naruto, this is probably my only friend, Chouji. Akamichi Chouji." Chouji looked from Shikamaru to the other boy, who must be Naruto, and gave him a friendly smile.

"Nice to meet you, Naruto."

"Yeah, same here. Chouji, right?" The boy nodded. "And you are Shikamaru." he said looking back at Shikamaru, who gave him a weird look. "Good, I'll probably be able to remember that." It was just then that the boy he had thought of to be Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke, came stalking by, followed closely by a number of young girls giving him googily eyes. Naruto recognized that the blonde haired girl was in the crowd and wondered what happened to Hinata. As if on cue, she walked into the tree's shade, and sat down next to Naruto, hugging her knees, not looking as nervous as she had.

"Hey Hinata, these are some guys I just became acquainted with. Nara Shikamaru," who he pointed to the lazy boy laying on his back, "and Akamichi Chouji." Chouji smiled at her and waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "You can just call me Chouji if you like." Shikamaru grunted at that, "Likewise, just call me Shikamaru." He then gave an annoyed look at Naruto before continuing. "You know, you are becoming troublesome with all these introductions." Hinata giggled at him.

"So Hinata, who was that girl you became acquainted with?"

"Her name is Yamanaka Ino. She's nice and said her family owns a flower shop in town and said I'm welcome to drop by if I want" she said enthusiastically. Naruto only guessed that Hinata loved flowers.

"Cool. Do you happen to know why all those people were chasing that boy there? I think he's Sasuke but I'm not sure." he asked her, who only shook her head to signify she didn't. Shikamaru grunted again, probably his way of alerting people that he was about to talk.

"Yeah, he's Sasuke. Lots of things are expected out of him. The talk is that he is supposed to have a good bit of talent, not as much as his brother, of course. As for the girls, well, I don't understand women all that well so I don't know. I guess they find him attractive but I wouldn't really know. Those things are just too troublesome to even consider this early in my life." Naruto almost doubled over in laughter at Shikamaru's words. Chouji joined in at laughing at his friend's expense.

As they sat there, amused by each other, Naruto's stomach made a beastly groan as it's hunger was announced to all around him. Chouji, consequently, laughed at Naruto and the embarrassed look plastered on his face. Hinata, however, felt bad for Naruto for not having anything to eat, something she didn't notice before they split up for lunch. The irony of this was that the lunch that she had brought for herself was more than she could eat and could share it with him.

"U-um...Naruto-kun, i-if you want, you can have s-some of my lunch." she said to him as she scooted a package wrapped in a large towel towards him, her eyes averted towards her right foot.

"You sure, Hinata?" he asked politely, resisting the urge, with great difficulty, to just take the food without proper consideration.

When she responded with a quiet "Mmhmm," he unwrapped the package, undoing the snap on the quaint lunchbox and opening the top of it to see a few rice balls, a couple celery sticks, and some noodles. The noodles were apparently cooked in a buttery-lemon sauce, from what Hinata told him after he asked, and the rest of the food tasted just like it looked. Naruto wasn't a big fan of celery, but beggars couldn't be choosers in these situations. After he finished that, he thanked Hinata, who responded in her quiet voice, "you're welcome, Naruto-kun." Shikamaru had finished his rice ball and was chewing on some bacon strips, still looking up at the clouds. Chouji was eating yet another bag of chips with no regard for how the consequences of such actions might have on him in the future. A few minutes after Naruto had finished Hinata's lunch, a whistle was blown by Iruka, signaling everyone to return to the classroom for more bookwork.

When the day finally ended, they received an assignment for homework for when they returned to school in a couple of days. Naruto stayed behind to speak with Iruka about how things were gonna end up working out. Apparently, the Academy's term for the students included an 8-9 month curriculum, for four years in all. The months that you didn't attend were the students' break from the school. Naruto's father, with the assistance of the elders, had the Ninja Academy changed to resemble more of a regular school for those who did not aspire to be ninjas. The first year students were to attend the academy 2-3 days a week since they did not want to overload students early. The second year for students was a 3-4 day a week schedule and more of a workload. The third year students and the fourth year students both attended the academy for 5 days a week with increasing workloads. Each year, the students would be given a test based on what the teacher for the class thinks would best test the instructor's students. The test for the first year class, Naruto was reassured by Iruka, wouldn't be terribly difficult but as each year goes by, the more demanding the finals would become, until the last year, where the students, no matter what, would have to perform a genin rank jutsu. Naruto thought how amusing it was that he was trying to master a technique that Jiraiya told him was a Jounin rank jutsu.

After getting all of the complexities that clouded his mind about the school cleared out, he said his good-bye to Iruka and went to go catch up with Hinata, who was waiting for him with Kurenai.

"So, Naruto-san, what did you and Iruka talk about?" Kurenai asked him with a curious look.

"Just asked him some things about the academy and how things were run. He reassured me on some of my earlier doubts." he responded, giving a satisfied smile to her and Hinata.

"That's good. Now, can we get you two home? I'm pretty sure you are all tired from your first day and to be honest, I'm hungry." Naruto laughed at Kurenai while Hinata giggled quietly, as always. After they reached his house, he said good-bye to Kurenai and Hinata, smiling as he did so. Naruto also reassured them that he would be there earlier tomorrow for their pick-up time when Kurenai gave him another curious gaze.

"Naruto, you know, you don't have to do that every day. I was to assume that it would be a one time thing since you didn't know where the Academy was." Naruto gave a slight pout, which resulted in a giggle from the woman who decided to let him come along. "But if you want to, then you can meet with us. I have no problems with it. Tomorrow, I don't want to be in such a rush like we had to this morning. So be early."

"Yes ma'am. See you tomorrow, Hinata-chan. Bye, Kurenai-san." and Naruto went into his house, where he had to go through the 'troublesome' process of telling his mom, dad, and Jiraiya about his day and what it would be like for the next four years.

After dinner, he went to the garden to meditate and practice his targeting for an hour before he tackled the chakra swirling exercise. He told himself that he would spend the whole of tomorrow on his homework and exercises. The Academy was definitely what he needed, he thought to himself as he crawled into bed. The change in his routine was definitely welcome and breath of new life for him. New people, new activities, new customs, and different routines, every day he would be there. He fell asleep, excited about the prospect of becoming a true shinobi of his village, excited over the thought that in four years, he might be one step closer to his goal.

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Now that that chapter is done, I'd like to go ahead and say that the next chapter will NOT be about the second day of school. If I were to write like that then it would be like chapter 100 or so till I got to a real plot. No, instead I have opted for a time skip. A big one. The next chapter will in fact take place on the day of the genin exams. After that chapter though, I will be through with already prepared chapters and will go back to having a chapter ready within a week or two's time. Just an early warning.

A preview, if you want one. Naruto and other's reminisce on the past four years of their life with the Academy, getting ready to become full fledged Genins. Who passes, who doesn't? Find out in the next thrilling update from me, The Gemini Project.


	4. Chapter 4

Welcome back everyone for another thrilling installation in this story. I know that the past three chapters have been, oh how should I put it, taxing on your time as readers since even I grumbled over doing them. But the first chapters of the story have served purposes and it will start to show now.

Thank you so much to those who have reviewed. Your comments have helped me and I deeply appreciate it. I have received some suggestions and taken what you all have asked into account and you might, or might not, be pleased that I have decided to add some of the suggestions into the story. But nothing influenced this chapter. It was already written by the time I published the third chapter, I just needed a couple of days to proof-read it for minor mistakes, that's all.

This chapter is the longest so far. Very long. Lots of insight into people's thoughts and mindframes, as well as flashbacks. But I enjoyed writing this chapter more than any chapter so far. So this one should be good. Helpful criticism is still welcome but all I could really ask for is that people keep reading because it starts getting a bit more interesting from now on. Now...without further ado. May I present...

Chapter 4 - Genin Exam: A day of Reminiscing and Opportunity

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_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! _

**SMASH**

With an ear-piercing crash, the 'bane' of Naruto's existence ceased to exist. The once great annoyance was now a pile of debris strewn across his floor after he grabbed it, yanking it out of the wall socket, and chucked it across hte room, where it collided with the unforgiving walls. _'Damn that felt good. Now I'll have to go get a new one though. Don't matter, cuz it still felt great.'_ He sat up in his bed and stretched, wincing as the pain from his overworked muscles hit him like a ton of bricks. Naruto had been training as much as possible whenever possible since that fateful day 8 months ago. On that day, Naruto was served a heaping dish of humble pie, courtesy Hinata's ill-tempered cousin, Neji. Just thinking back on it brings back all the physical pain, as well as the psychological.

(Flashback)

_Naruto was walking with Hinata, Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino, as had become traditional between them. Yamanaka Ino had grown to be a surprisingly attractive young girl but Naruto just didn't see her in that light. He thought that the pink-haired girl, Haruno Sakura, was more appealing, but both girls had such huge chubbies on the teenage heartthrob, Sasuke, that Naruto really had trouble seeing any of them in a light other than one of an idiot. He didn't care though, Ino was friendly to Hinata, and therefore, friendly to him. She would never be friendly towards Shikamaru though. She was neutral to Chouji, although she always made comments on how much he eats. The reason she would never be friendly towards Shikamaru, is because Shikamaru had a problem keeping his mouth shut. The moment he would open it in reference to Ino, he would immediately get back-handed by the girl because he would always say she was either too loud, too annoying, too troublesome, a shrew, or that Sasuke was no one special. Despite the fact that all of those statements were on the line of truth, a person just shouldn't be that blunt towards a volatile girl like Ino. Sakura was worse._

_After Ino left, Chouji and Shikamaru left to go to their favorite spot where the lazy boy would just gaze at clouds while Chouji would eat quietly and they would talk about their futures. Wierd. Now it was just Naruto and Hinata. She was being, as usual, quiet and Naruto, as usual, was trying to start a conversation with her. He gave up though when she stopped responding verbally. That was when he saw 'him.' That smug, arrogant, cruel little prick called Neji. He would never, ever, say that to the guy when Hinata was around, which happened to be every time he was around Neji. It was like he was being stopped by the girl. He didn't know what she was trying to stop but it probably had something to do with 'evil eyes' and 'fists.' Naruto couldn't help himself though. The guy was so smug and stuck-up, he made the snobs at all his old birthdays look like average joes. Neji really believed he knew it all and could foresee everything. Times change and Naruto was determined to, one day, teach this guy a lesson._

_"Hinata-sama, Hiashi-sama has been waiting. School has been out for 15 minutes. You were supposed to be at the mansion five minutes ago for 'family' training." He looked from her to Naruto, then back to her, shaking his head disapprovingly. "Hinata, how can you expect to be respected if you can't even make time for your family. You spend it all with 'trash' like him."_

_"What the hell did you just call me?" Naruto asked him with the utmost seriousness. 'Guess this is the day, huh? I finally have the excuse to kick your ass now.' "What the hell did you just call me?"_

_"N-Naruto-kun, please don't..."_

_"Hinata, he just called me trash. Are you saying I shouldn't do something about that?" He knew she meant well, that she didn't want to see him get into a confrontation with her family member, but this guy was just egging for a conflict and Naruto was going to be damned if he just stood there and took it._

_Neji smiled with such smugness it was almost unbearable. "Well, at least she's smart enough to recognize when someone is outclassed. There is a definite difference in our levels. I am of the Hyuuga and have mastered almost all of our families techniques while you...you are but the black sheep in a family with no redeeming qualities about them. How you are the son of the Hokage baffles me."_

_That did it. Naruto snapped and went straight at Neji. Ignoring Hinata's pleading for him to not attack Neji, Naruto went at him with as much speed as he could. Throwing his right fist for Neji's face, Neji blocked it with little effort, sending Naruto tumbling to the ground with as little grace as was possible in the situation. Coughing from the dust kicked into the air from his sliding to the ground, he got up, turned back to Neji and went after him, roaring. He threw another right for Neji, it was blocked again, but this time, Naruto stayed on his feet and swung his left leg towards Neji's midsection. Neji, without so much as a glance, raised his knee to block it and swung lazily at Naruto face with an open palm. Naruto jumped back to avoid and when he landed, he saw Neji crouch into a fighting style he had never seen before. His arms were extended out from his sides, the left one taking a slightly deeper dip than the right one, with palms open, facing the sky. His left leg extended while his right leg bent and he slumped his back down. Naruto didn't even know what was going to happen until he heard Neji's voice utter out the most ominous thing he'd ever heard._

_"You are in my field of divination." Naruto was frozen, unable to move, as he felt the area he was standing on take a different feel. It felt like Hinata's chakra, but much more malevolent. "Jyuuken: Hakke Rokujuuyonshou." _

_"Neji-nii-san, DONT!" Hinata screamed at Neji, pleading with him but it was too late. He had already moved in for the attack._

_"2...4...8...16...32...64..." and Naruto fell to the ground, writhing in agony, unable to get up and completely helpless. Even scarier, was the fact he couldn't gather chakra. 'It's as if this guy...He...sucked up all my chakra.'_

_"Huhuhuhuhu, now you know the difference in our powers. You are weak. Pathetic. And a disgrace to your father's name. The Hokage's son is nothing but a joke. You should just quit the academy, because you don't have what it takes...to be a ninja."_

(End Flashback)

The words stung so much, even more so when Naruto, at his most depressed - when he would question his ability - actually think that what he said was true. _'I've been scraping by in the first three years at the academy with barely passable marks. I'm considered the laughing stock in our class, despite the fact that other's have failed. Everyone expects so much out of me...it isn't fair.'_ That's what he would think during those times when he was really down-in-the-dumps. But it was with that day, that he rededicated himself to his training. When he would get home from school, he would go out to meditation garden or to the dojo, which was a recent addition that his father had put in place of one of the guest rooms, and practice till late at night. That was, however, only possible when he didn't have homework. When he did have homework, he would either spend the evening hanging out with Shikamaru or Hinata, the only two people who he knew who were smart. He couldn't count how many times Hinata had helped him with the homework they were required to do. He wasn't lazy...far from it...he just couldn't grasp alot of the questions asked in the textbooks. And now, today - the day of the finals to become a genin - he would have to take yet another test and this one was a doozy for him. It was embarrassing...he still couldn't grasp Bunshin no Jutsu. A simple technique aimed around creating an illusionary doppleganger of yourself, one that isn't solid. He had been practicing the move for the past two weeks...but he still couldn't get the hang of it.

After a quick shower and changing into his clothes for the day, he hurried to the garden for some last minute preparations. He had to be able to perform this ability.

"Bunshin no Jutsu...damn. Bunshin no Jutsu..._damn_. Bunshin no Jutsu...DAMN IT!" he shouted, punching the ground...why couldn't he get it...why...after all this time...he still couldn't get the damn jutsu. It was considered a Genin level jutsu but he just seemed to struggle with it. He had seen a lot of the kids in his class perform the technique at lunch a few days ago, so why couldn't he?

"Naruto, my boy. Do not be so desperate. You have no need for that."

"But...dad, I can't get it. Why? Why can't I get this stupid technique to work for me? It's not fair...I've tried my best to change this last year...my marks have gone up but...if I can't grasp this technique, then how can I possibly hope to be a good ninja. If I don't pass...I'll be a disgrace."

"Naruto!" He was visibly shaken by the harshness in the voice of his father. "You will never be a disgrace to me. I, myself, had problems with Bunshin no Jutsu. But I worked through it, like I know you will. Now just relax. Remember this, Naruto. Don't believe everything that appears on the surface. There is something you are missing. Something that you haven't completely grasped yet about your exam."

"What do you mean?" He was really confused. His father always seemed to be full of wisdom and wise phrases, but he would only give you clues and hints towards the meaning of his words and they were always cryptic.

"Your teacher left the door open...for another way. Good luck Naruto. I know you will pass, I have the utmost faith in you." His father then stood up and walked out of the garden. Naruto looked at the sun in the sky and recognized the height it was at. _'Crap, I can figure out what he said later, I hope. I need to get my ass to school.'_ Running as fast as he could, he went to his room, grabbed his backpack, and ran towards the kitchen for his breakfast and lunch. Grabbing his cup of ramen, which he inhaled by throwing it all into his mouth at once, he grabbed his lunch and ran out the door, struggling to get all the noodles down his throat.

As he ran towards the academy, he wondered how the others would do. His class as it went through the years had shrunk in size but was still left with some incredibly talented Genin-hopefuls. He thought back on how the others had progressed as he neared the building.

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Hinata awoke from her dream-filled sleep with a smile of satisfaction. She hadn't slept that well in a while. Quickly recovering from her stupor, she remembered what today was. The dreaded exam. The reason she dreaded it? This was the one time where she wasn't able to lend support of any kind to Naruto. Before, in all the previous finals for each of their past three years, she, he, Shikamaru, Chouji, and sometimes Ino would get together for a study session, or a hangout, whatever you wanted to call it. Shikamaru never really studied since he pretty much knew what everything was, he just didn't put the time into his homework. Tests for the lazy boy were a piece of cake.

She got out of her futon and slipped into her morning slippers, made her way to the kitchen and made some tea for her, her cousin, and her father. Sipping on her tea with no company, though, she thought back on all the time before in the academy. She was so intimidated by the school on that first day that she clung to Naruto like he were a magnet. She was embarrassed for her behavior that day, it being unsuitable of a Hyuuga, but was happy that Naruto went along with it and stayed by her. Each day after that of their first year was pretty much the same. They would come in every other day like: Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays (except for the weeks when they had only two days of school. Then they only came in on Mondays and Fridays). The second year was the same - Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, but on occasion they would come in on Saturdays. The third year, as well as this one, they would come in every day of the regular week. They studied just about everything from the shinobi world. Politics - including the wars, the history of each country, and reasons for disputes between them -, pros and cons of certain styles of fighting - which included ninjutsu, genjutsu, and taijutsu. They also learned about the flow and manipulation of chakra, the celestial gates, how beneficial the focusing of chakra could be, etc. There was, surprisingly, a lot that could be taught about the shinobi's way of life for four years. She had to agree with the wording of Naruto: "It's freaking ridiculous."

The finals of the first year was a written test. The finals of the second year were performing a standard string of taijutsu moves in a set form, as well as a paper test. The finals of the third year were recognizing genjutsus - extra credit if you could break out of it (Sakura was the only one) - and a written test. Now it was the day of the finals for the fourth and last year. If you failed, you had to repeat only the year you failed, but you would lose any chance of teaming up with the students in your class. That was why she was so nervous about today. She wanted Naruto to pass so she might have the chance to be on his team. '_I'm not that lucky though. I've had fun with Naruto all this time but now...we'll be seeing less of each other.'_

"Lady Hinata, it is good to see you are up and ready. Are you prepared for the exam?" Turning around, she was met with an indifferent looking Neji. The event of eight months ago was still engraved in her mind and she flinched everytime she thought back to it.

"H-Hai, I am Neji-nii-san."

"Very good, you have been improving ever since you attended the academy. Your father seems to be pleased with your progress. And Hinata."

"Y-yes?"

"Tell that black sheep, Naruto, I said good luck." he said to her as he walked out of the kitchen while chuckling with arrogance. _'Oh Neji. If only you could see how much he's tried to improve since that day.'_

She then noticed the time, ran to her room as quickly as she could, grabbed her backpack, threw on her oversized jacket like she always did - even in the spring and summer time - and ran out of the compound.

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In a large classroom, Iruka sat behind his desk, going through some papers and getting the files and folders ready for the finals. His assistant, Mizuki, sat in a chair next to the desk, helping him out with the paperwork.

"How do you think this class will do, Iruka?" Mizuki asked his friend. Iruka rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he replied.

"There is a lot of talent, but only three jounin instructors this year. Four of my students are gonna have to wait till next year, if they pass."

"The lack of jounin instructors is saddening to hear, especially with the fact that we are considered the most prestigious of the hidden villages. We get more people who want to join our village and assist in its growth every year and yet we have a lack of instructors for the next generation of shinobi."

"It certainly is disappointing. But in our times, the ninja who would be considered for the instruction of the next wave of ninja are asked to be reserves for our forces. They cannot help what the Hokage requests of them. We just have to make due."

"Who are the instructors anyway?" Mizuki asked.

"Well...Kurenai is a fresh jounin and since she has experience in scouting and information gathering, she will most likely choose from three of the best students for that position. Asuma, the previous Hokage's son, will have his own team. I wouldn't know who he would get, but I have a sneaking suspicion on whom he would like to have. As for the third jounin instructor...the Hokage hasn't decided yet on who best bring out the third teams abilities. I have a feeling it will be Kakashi though, he was the Fourth's protegé." Mizuki nodded his head thoughtfully.

"Who do you think will, if they pass, be put on a team this year?"

"Wow...putting me on the spot are you? Well...Uchiha Sasuke is pretty obvious, as is Haruno Sakura. Hyuuga Hinata shows incredible potential and I don't think she would mess up a bunshin. Aburame Shino is especially talented in his families trademark skills. Nara Shikamaru has uncanny intelligence and shows potential every now and then but he seems unmotivated. Despite that fact, I'm pretty confident he will pass. Let's see, that's five. Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba will probably be above passable. They show great potential, despite character issues. Akimichi Chouji, I would say, would pass. As for the last one...I'd have to say Naruto. He picked up his performance in the class this past year, despite barely getting through all his tests with barely passable grades. He has struggled before more than the others, but if he brings his A-game, he will pass. The other's have not shown much potential." When he finished, he breathed a deep sigh, filled with anxiousness. He hated judging his students like that but he had to admit, it was almost obvious except for the last two people. He was pretty confident, though, that his predictions were true.

"Well, Iruka, let's get ready to find out. I'll go ring the bell." Mizuki got up and disappeared out of the classroom. A moment later, the bell could be heard and the raucous began.

(Ten minutes later)

After the students went to their seats, the class having been durastically cut down from the beginning 40 or so, down to a meager 13, Iruka stood up and cleared his throat, demanding silence.

"Very good. Now I know you all know what today is and I'm not gonna make you suffer through any more waiting than you already have to. Me and Mizuki will be grading your performance of the test requirement. Just in case you happened to not know or forgot, you have to create a Bunshin. Create a good Bunshin and you will be passed. It has to be acceptable by mine and Mizuki's standards. Understood?" When everyone nodded or spoke 'Hai!', he continued. "Alright, alphebetical order. Aburame Shino, please come with us."

Naruto watched as they walked out of the room, still trying to figure his way out of this situation with a passing grade. '_What the hell did my father mean by the teacher left it open for another way? Damn you, dad, and your cryptic messages.'_ Shino came back in with a hitai-ite in hand, no emotion being shown on the boy, probably because you couldn't see a damn thing on him. What was up with the shades and trenchcoat anyways. Shino looked like a world-class freak, the type you would meet in a dark alley.

"Alright, Akimichi Chouji." The pudgy boy walked away with the instructors holding a bag of chips in his hand. Always with the potato chips. When he returned a few moments later, he was grinning happily with his hitai-ite tied on his head.

Naruto didn't even recognize the fact that Iruka called out for two more people, one returning with out a head band, the other with a head band. "Next, Haruno Sakura." She jogged to the instructors as they took her away for just a few moments before she came back in with her headband in hand. "Hyuuga Hinata."

"Good luck, Hinata-chan."

"A-Arigatou, Naruto-kun." She shuffled over timidly to Iruka and Mizuki, who left and came back a few moments later, Hinata sporting her hitai-ite around her neck. Naruto smiled at her warmly, very happy for her. "Inuzuka Kiba."

"Yahooooo. My turn." He jumped from his desk all the way to the ground in front of the teachers and followed them. Naruto used this time to get a quick bit of info from Hinata.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. Congratulations."

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. I'm sure you will be joining me soon." She blushed and fidgeted in her seat as she spoke with him.

"Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about-"

"Woohoo!" Kiba's enthusiastic shout echoed through the classroom, cutting Naruto off and gaining a glare from the blonde haired youth. Obviously, Kiba had gotten his headband. The little dog on top of his head barked happily.

"Nara Shikamaru, you're next."

groan "So troublesome." he mumbled on his way out the door, earning a chuckle from Naruto and a giggle from Hinata.

"N-Naruto-kun, you were saying?"

"Huh? Oh...yeah, I just wanted to say I'm really happy for you." She gasped slightly and went beet red.

_'Okay good, she bought it. Now what? I wanted to do it without help for once, but this is the time when I should be begging for it. What am I not getting here?'_

Shikamaru walked back in, his headband in hand. The next person two people were people Naruto didn't really pay any attention to, although he guessed he should have. One of them was particularly talented with genjutsus but was weak everywhere else. But that person also came back in with a headband. The other person didn't.

"Uchiha Sasuke. You're next." Naruto heard Sakura and Ino tell him good luck as he went by. Sasuke threw a passing glance over to Naruto, which got a curious return look from him. A few moments later, he walked back in, hitai-ite tied on his head.

"Uzumaki Naruto." gulp '_This is it...oh gods...please help me._'

"Good luck, Naruto-kun. I know you can do it." he heard Hinata say to him as he passed by her. He stopped where he was, turned to her, and gave her his best confident look, which probably ended up looking stupid on the boy's face. As he walked with the instructors to an unoccupied classroom, he kept thinking about how he was going to do this.

"Alright Naruto, make a Bunshin and you pass. Simple as that."

It clicked. _A bunshin...Make a Bunshin...I GET IT!_

"You said make a bunshin?"

"Yes, Naruto, that's what I've been saying for two weeks. Make a Bunshin, final exam." replied Iruka in exasperation.

"Well...I can't perform Bunshin no Jutsu..."

Mizuki and Iruka gave him curious looks. "Then..."

"But I can do this." With that, he took his hands and formed the 'Ram' seal, making the eyes of Iruka and Mizuki bulge. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!" After the cloud of dust settled there were two Narutos standing there looking at them.

"Oh my god, Naruto. You can't make a simple bunshin but you can make a Kage Bunshin?"

The two Naruto's then performed a game of Rock-Paper-Scissors. One made paper, the other scissors. "Ah man, he always beats me." one of them said with a pout on his face before it disappeared and only one Naruto was left standing there. "Ummm...do I pass?"

"Y-Yes, you do. You have no complaints do you, Mizuki?"

"None at all. Very impressive Naruto. Your father will be very proud to hear this." Naruto responded to the praise with the brightest smile he had probably ever given his teacher and his assistant.

"Naruto, how long have you been able to do that technique?" Iruka asked him out of curiosity.

"Ummm...bout a month now. This is the second time I've performed the move. But I spent so much time trying to be able to perform it that making a regular bunshin just wouldn't happen for me." He then rubbed the back of his head in an embarrassed manner.

"Wow...congratulations Naruto. You deserve it. You've really proven yourself today Naruto. Here, this belongs to you." he said to him as he handed Naruto his hitai-ite. Naruto smiled brightly at the headband, tying it around his head with enthusiasm and followed them back to the class. Naruto, upon walking in, sporting his hitai-ite, got some of the students to start speaking in whispers while Hinata just looked at him in awe.

"Congratulation, Naruto-kun!" she said like a giddy school girl, which she was, except for the giddy part. "Thank you, Hinata-chan."

"Yamanaka Ino, you're last. Let's finish this up." She walked down but made a quick stop by their seats and whispered 'congrats' to both of them before making her way with the instructors to the classroom he had just been in. A moment or so later, she returned with the headband tied around her head, skipping back to her seat. Iruka then went to the front of the class and scanned the room, looking everyone up and down. '_Eleven graduates...but only three instructors. Either a couple people will be left out...or two jounin instructor will have an extra student. That would be...a bit unorthodox.'_

"Alright, congratulations to those who succeeded in the finals. Me and Mizuki are very proud of your progress and your efforts so far. Dumo, Melinda, I am sorry but you will not be passing with your fellow classmates. You can try again next year." Naruto looked back to the students he named and saw the boy, Dumo, shaking his head miserably and in disappointment while the girl, Melinda, had her face on her desk and in between her arms. Her shoulders twitched slightly every now and then and were probably a sign of the girl sobbing. Naruto turned back to the front, trying not to feel guilty for them, but finding it hard. The academy had been an utter bitch. The stories of Kakashi and Itachi passing the academy earlier than the others had sent him into believing the academy was easy and he would do the same thing. But damn was he ever wrong. The curriculum, assignments, schedules, workload, and requirements were murderous.

"As Iruka said, congratulations. But this is not over yet. There are eleven graduees...but only three instructors have been assigned to this years graduating class." Everyone started to mumble and gasp in shock. It was a well known fact that the graduating ninjas were split into three-man cells and assigned to one jounin teacher to help further their abilities and take them on missions. But now...only three instructors for eleven students.

"That's not fair, Iruka-sensei! We all have worked hard for this right and you are telling us that...two of us are going to have to suffer because of that? That's BULL!" shouted Kiba, while his dog growled and yiped angrily with him.

"I know, I know. I totally agree with you Kiba, but rules are rules and our situation is not really helping with the scenario. The Hokage just can't give up as many of our village's talented ninjas as he wants without there being consequences. He gives an additional jounin instructor to the graduates and the village loses a potential defender against enemy forces. Do not fret though, the one's who might be left out will automatically be on a team when next year's jounin instructors are assigned. For those who do not get a team this year, consider it your opportunity to relax and enjoy your free time. You'll have a year to get better so that you will be better prepared when you are put on your team. It may seem unfair, but it could be a blessing in disguise for some of you. Now, all those with their hitai-ite report to this classroom tomorrow to find out which of you will be assigned to teams. That is all, class is dismissed for the rest of the day." Iruka then nodded to the class as he got a 'Hai' in response.

Everyone started exiting the classroom and talking with each other. Naruto was followed by Hinata, of course, while he went to go find Shikamaru and Chouji and join them. A day of sitting under shade in peace would be nice, especially after the emotional stress he had put himself under today. "Yo! Chouji! Shikamaru!"

"Oy, Naruto, Hinata, congratulations to both of you." Chouji said to them with his usual very friendly smile. Shikamaru had his hands in his pockets and was walking as if it were task to do so.

"Likewise to you both. So...are you all excited about getting an instructor? I know I am, I can't wait to get started doing missions." Naruto beamed after he finished his statement, so happy that he finally had that monkey off his back.

"Actually, I don't care either way. It'll be good to finally start doing something other than homework but I wouldn't mind not being on a team and waiting for a year. The relaxation time sounds tempting." Naruto laughed at Shikamaru, as did Chouji, but Hinata stayed silent. "Hey, Hinata, something troubling you? You seem more quiet than you usually are." asked the lazy Nara.

"G-Gomen, Shikamaru-kun, I just..." she gulped and thought about how to word this. "I j-just don't want t-to not have a team th-this year." Naruto looked upon her sadly and with a little bit of pity. He thought he had it bad but she is supposed to be the heir to her clan. Naruto's 'clan' didn't even have a respectable past lineage. The Hyuuga's, however, were considered to be the noblest and most prestigious of all the clans. If she were to not be put on a team, her family may think that she has disgraced them all.

"Hinata-chan, I am sure you will be put on a team tomorrow. In fact, I am positive you will. So don't let yourself be dragged down by any negative thoughts, okay?" If his words didn't reassure her, then his smile certainly did. When she nodded and smiled back, Naruto felt better. _It feels good to help somebody. If only someone could reassure me that I will be on a team. _"Sooooo...what's the plan guys? Gonna go and just sit under the shade as usual?"

"Nah, I'm not sure about you guys but I'm still sleepy so I'm going back home to sleep till tomorrow. Bye." Shikamaru turned down a street and went on his way back to his house.

"I was gonna get something to eat if you guys wanna come along." Chouji told Naruto and Hinata. They both looked at each other and then back to him, nodding. "Cool then follow me. I know this place called 'Ichiraku's.' They have the best ramen around."

Naruto laughed at him, which earned a puzzled look from Chouji. "I already know about that place. Me and Hinata have been there before. I'm cool with it. How bout you, Hinata?"

"I'm f-fine with it." she said, poking the toe of her sandals into the ground. She, Naruto, and Chouji walked off to the ramen stand, talking and laughing when it was appropriate. Naruto and Hinata were especially happy having that weight off of their shoulders. Naruto felt that he could breath, for the first time in a while.

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Evening had fallen across Konoha and their was a certain buzz of excitement going through the village. The lights were dimming on the streets but they stayed on in the houses, as many people were finding it difficult to get to sleep tonight. Not only did tomorrow mark the end of school for the academy students but it also signaled that three new teams would be formed. It was always a big deal to most of the villagers because they found the ninja tradition of their village to be as vital as the more normal side of the village. Those incapable of being ninjas or who just didn't have the desire to be a ninja were still enthralled with the customs of the shinobi lifestyle for the village thrived on the ninjas.

In one particular household, a stern, cold-faced man looked upon his son in silence, viewing the boy being a little unnerved while under the gaze of the man. "Sasuke, I have heard that your marks were at the very top. I am pleased with your progress." Sasuke loosened a little under the compliment but still stayed a little tense.

In truth, Sasuke was surprised at the compliment that came from his father. He had seemed disappointed that Sasuke had not awakened his sharingan yet but the more elderly of their clan who were blessed with the ability to feel the wavelengths of chakra from individuals had said that the time was nearing. The boy would activate the Sharingan, it was just dormant, and they would have to be patient until then. "Thank you, Otou-san."

"Let's just hope that you are put on a team where you will not be held back...and with an instructor who will help ascend you to the next level. I have heard that Hatake Kakashi might be an instructor. If that is so, then you will most certainly get the attention that is deserving of you, my son." He looked out of a window and taking note of the darkness of the outside, he continued. "But we will find out tomorrow. It is late, so go to bed and get some rest. Tomorrow is yet another big day for you." He smiled warmly at Sasuke and motioned for him to leave. Sasuke stood, bowed slightly to his father before saying 'good night' to him, and left to go to his room.

On his way to his room, he was surprised to see Itachi standing outside of his room, as if waiting for him. The always red-eyed nin looked at him casually but calculatively, taking into account almost every little thing. His unusual perceptiveness always gave Sasuke the creeps, as well as the fact that he always seemed to have his sharingan activated. The familiar two wheels of the first level of his clan's bloodlimit were visible, even in the dim light of the hallway they were standing in.

"Can I help you, Itachi-nii-san?" The man in question just walked directly to him, kneeling and poking him in the head like he always did, smiling at him more warmly than usual.

"Not really. Just wanted to tell you that I am proud. You have come along very well and father is more pleased than he lets on. Do not let anything think that you can be held down okay? Just because the team you may be assigned to might be unorthodox to you does not mean that you will be held back or slowed down. Your team...is your life. Don't forget that okay?" He then ruffled his little brother's hair, smiling and chuckling when Sasuke flailed his arms and groaned in annoyance for him to stop. "Goodnight, Otouto." As he walked away, Sasuke looked at his retreating form, feeling that something was slightly amiss about his brother's demeanor.

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The sun was rising on a new day as the warm wind of spring blew throughout Konoha. A new day and a new generation. Many of the more veteran ninjas realized that this group was filled with the next generation of many powerful shinobi families, namely the Hyuugas and the Uchihas. Some would consider the Uzumaki boy in this classification if it weren't for the fact that the family wasn't really a shinobi family. The Yondaime was the only Uzumaki in their clan to really show the most promise since his grandfather, but his grandfather had come from Grass Country. A civil war that had broken out in Grass Country was what led the family of the Uzumaki to leave and head for a more stable country and government. Fire Country was their ultimate stop and Konoha was where the Yondaime's father made him go to get a better life. And a better life is what the Fourth now had. He had a family of his own, the position of political power in the village he loved, and was the most revered of all the Kage's, even more so than the Sandaime of Suna.

"Hokage-sama, the shinobi you have summoned have gathered. Shall I let them in?" asked a man with a rather long toothpick (or is that a senbon?) in his mouth.

"Yes, I must speak with them about the arrangements I have made for the students." The man nodded, bowed, and stepped outside, leaving the door closed for only a few moments before it was opened again, with numerous people walking in, all of them being shinobi. They were mumbling amongst each other until he cleared his throat for attention. After everyone hushed each other, he gazed around the room, noting that even his tardy-prone apprentice was there. "Very well, let's begin, shall we?"

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Iruka was scanning the classroom, looking at the students that had taken their seats. Every single one of them wasn't even whispering to each other, passing around gossip, or not paying attention to him. He was their sole focus right now and it made him realize just how tense this situation was for them. This was their profession, their livelihoods. They had chosen at a young age to take a step into a world that would be their workplace, their duty, and their career. It awed Iruka just how different these kids were from normal people living in towns and villages that were not dedicated to the shinobi lifestyle. The kids in those towns chose their professions when they were well into their teens, going through numerous years of schooling, learning things far more demanding of the intellect than what the students here had to learn. Iruka's students had to learn about dangerous situations, codes of conduct on missions, and how to fight. The kids outside of the shinobi life learned science, history, mathematics, and literature, and even though Iruka's students were taught in those fields as well, 'normal' kids learned the finer points of those areas of study.

Now focused on the look of desperation in the faces of his students, Iruka decided, not for the first time recently, that he should speed up the process to go ahead and relieve the minds of his students. '_Nine students would be separated into three teams. The remaining two individuals would have to wait till next year._' "Good morning, class. Today, I am sad to say, is the last day you will HAVE to see me." To this the class cheered sarcastically, playing along with Iruka's teasing comments. "You don't have to be afraid to visit though." Snickers from the class now. "But now I feel that you all are ready for the final decision. So without further ado, I'll begin." The students began shuffling to the edge of their seats, on edge, and on the verge of going crazy.

"Team Seven: Uchiha Sasuke..." With the mention of his name, Ino and Sakura looked at each other, silently challenging each other. '_Please let me be on his team,' _thought Sakura. _'I'm the one who deserves it,' _thought Ino. "Uzumaki Naruto..." Now everyone started to get interested in the last person and Sakura and Ino were thrilled, feeling that they both would have the chance to be on the same team as two _'cute'_ guys such as them. "and Hyuuga Hinata." Ino's and Sakura's jaws dropped. They both seemed to mumble out an 'It isn't fair.'

Sasuke was, on the inside, silently brooding over the choice in his teammates. He would have thought that they might have held him back until his conversation with Itachi last night. Now he was stewing their traits over and over in his head. Naruto was a dense idiot but the low marks did not take away from the fact that he was near the top of the class in ninjutsu, under only him. His poor performances in the earlier years of the academy were long forgotten in the improvement made this year. The girl was the most troubling thing. Her taijutsu was among the best in the class, under him, but it seemed that something was amiss with her. Something along the lines of being refrained, as though she were holding back. Maybe he was reading too much into it. He was thankful neither the pink haired, neither the blonde haired, girl had been assigned to his team. They would have just been annoying. Sasuke guessed he was kind of lucky. Now it was just a matter of having a good jounin instructor and he would be able to ascend his power.

Hinata was silently ecstatic. How could her fortunes have come out any more perfect? She was to be on the same team as the boy who had helped her with her most troubling difficulty. Everytime she saw him fall on his face but then get back up, she would smile and find a greater strength from within her. However, more and more lately, it was getting harder and harder for her to focus completely around the blonde haired boy who she was friends with. Something strange would keep on happening that hadn't really happened until that first day she saw him at the stream. The day she watched him walking on water. That day she knew something about this boy, that he would be something special. If only her cousin could see his good points. If only Neji could've seen how hard Naruto had been struggling to become better, to become stronger.

Naruto's reaction was one of mixed emotions. He was happy that he would have someone familiar on his team but...Sasuke was going to be an issue. He could just feel it. If there was something Naruto hated more than anything, it was snobs and stuck-ups. That's why Neji always pissed Naruto off. That's why all those people at his past birthdays pissed him off. And Sasuke, Naruto feared, was going to be the same as Neji and Naruto didn't know if he could work with someone that smug. _'Oh well, there was a reason we were put together. 'Maybe hearing it will make him slightly less snobbish...I can only hope.'_

"Team Eight: Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino." Sasuke smirked and chuckled evilly. The pink-haired nuisance was out of his hair and stuck on a team with 'bug-boy' who he had overheard was one of the people she was most unpleased about being around. More bluntly, she says the boy is 'icky.' Looking over at the girl who was in her row, he saw her head down and shivering. _'Hahahaha, serves you right for stalking me like all the rest of those idiot girls.'_ The only one who hadn't done that, and the only female in the class he had respect for, just so happened to be on his team. _'She's going to be a lot more bearable than the others.'_

"Team Ten: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji." Naruto cringed when he heard Shikamaru's name come right after Ino's, but at least Chouji would be on the lazy boy's team to help give him support. That was the only thing the boy could give but he would also need it since Ino had a problem with the eating habits of Chouji. Naruto was a bit saddened. He wanted Shikamaru to be on his team...a lot. Shikamaru's intelligence was to be marveled and his skills were impressive. Control over shadows was, in the more simplistic sense of description, cool.

Iruka had just finished telling the remaining two that they were excused, apologizing to the miserable-looking genin profusely, and assuring them that they would have a team guaranteed in next year's graduating class. He thought back to the Yondaime's reassuring words that they would have enough Jounin instructors next year after enough they have returned from long term missions outside of the village. After they left, he looked at the remaining graduees, analyzing the teams and remembering all the raucous from earlier this morning in the Hokage's Tower as the Yondaime, who had given the final say in which teams the graduates are split into. The original suggestion had been 'Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto; Hinata, Kiba, and Shino; Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji.' Just a slight change between team's eight and seven but it seemed to make things a lot stranger. But who was Iruka to question the Hokage. "Now that you all know of your teams, you will wait for your instructors to arrive. Good luck to you all." After he finished that statement, a woman with rather long hair that was thick with quantity, red eyes, and form fitting clothing walked into the room.

Naruto noticed Hinata's eyes brighten when the woman stepped in. And why shouldn't she have? If this was their instructor then 'damn.' Everything would seemingly be going in Hinata's favor, as well as his. Kurenai was definitely strong, he could tell that back when she would escort them to school. But when she spoke up, he seemed to see the bright look in Hinata just crash. "Team Eight, step forward and follow me." Naruto watched as Kiba jumped over his table and landed nimbly at the feet of Kurenai, Shino stood up and moved calmly to meet up with Kiba and Kurenai, while Sakura had just begun standing up. She was still sulking about not being on a team with Sasuke and Naruto thought it was sad yet hilarious at the same time. Sad for the fact that she swooned everytime Sasuke even looked at her and hilarious in two ways. The first way was the fact that she was so confident she would pass, be on a team with Sasuke, and he would see the good in her and now that wasn't possible. The second way was the fact she had also vocally announced her displeasure with Shino and his 'talents.' Shino was infamous in the class for being an A-class weirdo that freaked out damn near everyone around him because of his families abilities. The use of bugs was considered weird, disturbing, and just plain 'gross.' Naruto didn't care though, he thought the guy was pretty damn cool. After Sakura got onto the bottom floor, she stood to the left of Kiba since Shino was standing to Kiba's right. Kurenai looked over her team, then took a look back up to Hinata, and smiled at her, but it was a sad and disappointed smile. Kurenai must've liked Hinata alot and really wanted to be her instructor. Hell that would've been awesome to Naruto. But things don't always work out the way you want them to.

As they started walking out of the room, a tall man stepped into the room. He looked at the teams and called his team. "Team Ten, come on now. Let's get going." Shikamaru stood up solemnly, mumbling under his breath as he always seemed to do when he was told to do something he just didn't want to do, which was almost always. Ino had already bounded her way down the steps, taking a quick pit stop to say good-bye to Sasuke, who just muttered something underneath his breath. Chouji walked with Shikamaru down the steps and stood there waiting for Ino, since she had made slowed down yet again to say something to Hinata that Naruto couldn't make out. Then Ino went down to meet with her team and their apparent instructor. The man, tall and imposing, with a raggedy looking beard, nudged his head towards the door and walked towards it, the others following him out of the room. Now 'Team Seven' was left alone, waiting for their instructor. This was looking good for Sasuke, if he was correct.

_'If our instructor is indeed 'late' then hopefully it's the guy that Itachi always talked about and who father mentioned last night. Kakashi was his name if I am correct.' _

Iruka, who watched from down the hall as Team Ten was led out of the building, waited for the instructor for Team Seven. _'Come on now, it shouldn't take this long now.'_ He now thought back to the morning and the squabble that had occurred from the Yondaime's rulings on the teams.

(Flashback)

_On the top floor of the massive building, shinobi of various rank had been assembled. Iruka and Mizuki were there, going over paperwork, the Yondaime was speaking with a man in a mask, that man apparently being one of the ANBU, and several Jounin were speaking with each other. Before he got started with that though, there were some things he needed to clear up._

_"Alright, I've been informed that eleven students passed. Now, as you have all been informed, this year the village can only spare three jounin to instruct teams." Whispers and mumbles were heard from the group in the room. "I had to choose one of two options: either we give two jounins a fourth student or the other students will wait a year and go with next years' graduates. I have decided on the latter of the two and will now discuss who...gets who." The gathered ninja hushed and looked at the hokage intently._

_"Who, sir, has been chosen of the eleven?" asked Kurenai, agitated by the delay with the essential information._

_"Yes...I will let Iruka explain that. Umino Iruka, if you will?"_

_"Yes sir. I have graded the students and judged them, not just from this year but years previous. I have come to a conclusion that these will be the ninjas that I feel deserve to be assigned to a Jounin instructor." Everyone focused on him, hanging on to every word. Though some of the ninjas gathered had issues with being 'baby-sitters,' they were very interested on this particular group. This class seemed to be very talented. "Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Chouji, and Uzumaki Naruto." The Yondaime seemed to glow with pride when his son's name was mentioned and it didn't go unnoticed. Several people snickered at his satisfied smile._

_"Very well, hearing who the students are that will be assigned to a jounin, I will now assign three jounin to these genin. Step forward when you are called. Sarutobi Asuma." A gruff, tall man stepped forward with a cigarette still burning in his mouth. "You will receive the Nara, Akimichi, and Yamanaka. Their parents worked well together, there shouldn't be any issues with the kids." Iruka chuckled and mumbled out "besides the fact the Yamanaka girl doesn't get along with the Nara boy."_

_"Hai, Hokage-sama." said Asuma as he stepped back, bowing slightly._

_"Yuuhi Kurenai." The attractive young woman, just turned jounin, stepped forward. "I am sorry to tell you this but you will be teaching students but not the one I know you want. You're team with consist of Haruno Sakura, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."_

_"W-What? But you know how much I care for that girl, Yondaime. Hinata has been under my watchful gaze ever since she first attended the school. That's...That's just not fair. Besides, if I am to be in charge of a reconaissance team, then she would be an invaluable addition to it. I implore you to reconsider." Iruka raised his eyebrows, surprised by the brashness of her nature and the irritance in her voice. She was truly upset at the Hokage's decision._

_"I am sorry for your disagreement with my decision but it is final. Your team is indeed a reconaissance team and Kiba and Shino have more than enough ability for that. Haruno Sakura's intelligence is very impressive and her genjutsu awareness is top notch. She will take care of any weakness in your team, as will the others take care of her weaknesses. You might be surprised with how well she fits in with your team. Give her a chance before you jump to conclusions, Kurenai." She glared at the Yondaime, who only smiled in return, seemingly oblivious to her stare, and she stepped back into the group._

_"So...you feel, Yondaime sir, that she will do better in a team with the Uchiha boy and your son? What role will she have then? She'll just be overshadowed by the attention the others will get."_

_"And what do you mean by that, Kurenai?" He really was getting perturbed by her display. It was unbecoming of a shinobi he had selected to teach their newest reconaissance team._

_"Well, obviously you will need someone with considerable skill who is knowledgeable of the members' abilities to teach them. I'm assuming you will have our always-tardy Kakashi to instruct them, am I right? Do you really think she, or anyone else in that team, will get the attention they deserve with him?" Everyone seemed a little taken aback by the tone of her voice. She was really flustered and it was showing._

_"Okay, Kurenai-chan, I now see why you feel so strongly but do not worry. She, as well as Sasuke and Naruto, will get the attention they deserve. And what did I tell you about jumping to conclusions eh?" She looked at him a little shocked since his voice went from being stern to being teasing. "Kakashi, will stay under my immediate command but will return to the rank of where he belongs." Everyone now looked at him shocked, Kakashi especially._

_"Kakashi, you will take your rightful place back in the ANBU. No arguments, it is an order from your Hokage. You will be replacing the man I have chosen to be the instructor for these students." After seeing all the shocked and confused faces, he felt it was only right that he elaborate. "Let me explain. Asuma's cell is a team that, once matured and skills developed, will be considered an investigations team. They have the ability of capturing targets, detaining them, and, with the Yamanaka's ability, able to look inside the mind's of targets, effectively getting information that might be necessary. Kurenai's cell is a team that will be trained in the art of reconaissance, as you all know. They will be taught to gather information from difficult areas and scout areas that might be considered dangerous. With the intelligence of the Haruno girl and the abilities of the Inuzuka and Aburame boys, this team should, once matured, be very effective at gathering information pertinent to missions and political matters. The final team, which will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Hyuuga Hinata, will be considered...this year's attack cell. The group will be trained in the art of effective combat and will be trained in order to further that ability to fight. I hope that this year's team will be the spitting image of Maito Gai's team from last year. Having said that there are some major doubts. I would have chosen my apprentice, Kakashi, to instruct them if things were just a little bit differently. But as Kurenai has said, there is a chance that favoritism could occur and cause controversy between not just the genin in the team, but others outside of the team, thinking that **I** have shown favoritism. The truth of the matter is that all three kids that will be in this team have great 'potential,' but need someone to help them work through the roadblocks that are in the way. That is why I have chosen the instructor I did. Does my logic sit well with you now, Kurenai-san?" Everyone seemed taken aback by the amount of thought he had put into everything. He must've studied the students thoroughly to be able to come to such a decisive conclusion._

_"So you think she would fit well into the role of a 'fighter'? Sir, without trying to sound like I 'want' to argue with you, I think you really don't know how she-"_

_"Kurenai-chan, stop. That is enough of that. My decision is based not on her desires but what needs to be done. She is a Hyuuga, Kurenai. If she were to be put on your team, classified as a surveillance and reconaissance team, she would be seen in her clan as weak. The elders of the Hyuuga's are pressuring Hyuuga Hiashi to choose someone else as the heir because Hinata seems to not show as much promise as her younger sister or even Hiashi's brother's son. I am doing what I feel is best for her. I have nothing but the best intentions for everyone in the village and that is what all of my decisions are based upon, the best intentions for my village's people. Stop questioning me." Kurenai hung her head, now taking into full account what he was saying. The Yondaime took a deep breath, sighed out the breath, and then looked back to the jounin instructors. "Now, as I was saying, Kakashi, you will take your rightful place back in the ANBU and replace the man I have assigned to teach the team."_

_"Uzumaki-sensei, are you positive about this? I may have my quirks but I will certainly be a great instructor for the final team. You don't have to pull an ANBU off the squad." but his sensei just raised his hand to quiet him. Kakashi wanted to keep on, to plea with him to not do this, but the ANBU who was beside the Yondaime stepped forward._

_"Now, Kakashi-san, that is no way to speak to our Hokage, now is it?" asked the man, reaching up to his mask and taking it off. The question wasn't really as smug as it sounded, it was more along the lines of teasing Kakashi than questioning him. Once the mask had been removed, the chiseled, hard face of the man came into focus. Despite the face guard that his hitai-ite had been made into, his features were still visible but not enough to be definite. But you would recognize this man in a crowd, he had a sort of alure to him that just attracted your attention. The bodywear was pretty heavy-duty, the armor he wore would probably stop a very well thrown kunai but it was known that the armor was not heavy and therefore, did not weigh down the wearer. He looked strong and Kakashi recognized him immediately. 'Him? He's wanting 'him' to teach genin?' Kakashi feared that the Yondaime may be seen as throwing his weight around as the Hokage and making unfair judgments in this situation._

_"He is the instructor for the final team and this is a final decision. No more arguing, no more bickering. Got it? Good." The man stepped towards Kakashi and handed him the mask he had been wearing. He took off the body armor, revealing he was wearing the jounin jacket underneath, and also handed it to the bewildered Kakashi._

_"Kakashi, from this point on, you will take over my roll as captain." said the man, smiling, as Kakashi took the things from him with a shaky hand._

_"Good, now that that is over, I believe Iruka and Mizuki, as well as all of you have someplace you need to get to. Kakashi, stay behind with the captain. I have just a few more things to discuss before I can dismiss you both." They both nodded and stayed while everyone else left._

(End Flashback)

Iruka was still in awe at the massive amount of dedication the Yondaime had taken into getting himself familiarized with the students in order to make such decisions with the utmost confidence. He then heard footsteps and, turning towards the sound, saw a man stepping into the class room.

Naruto jerked his head up at the sound and was a little surprised that he didn't recognize the man. Although, something about him was familiar. _'Is he our instructor?'_ was the only thing he could think. Sasuke had the same thought, but was disappointed that he wasn't Kakashi. He had been told that Hatake Kakashi had a Sharingan that was always activated hidden behind his hitai-ite and had spiky, silver hair. Hinata was unsure what to think. She could tell that he was strong but something was different about him than the other instructors.

"Team Seven, I assume?" They all nodded. "Good, my name is Yamato and I will be your sensei from now on."

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**THANK GOD!**

I'm finally done with this chapter. Took me a solid week but I guess that's good for a week's worth of work. If it seemed to get boring at points, I guess I should apologize, but I had to have a lot of reminiscing, flashbacks, and inner thoughts between many different people so I could get the feel of the characters out there and how different they are. The differences so far that are majorly noticeable is, as you can tell, the new instructor for team seven, Hinata being on team seven instead of Sakura, and no, I did not do that because I wanted a cheesy way to eventually get Hinata and Naruto together. Nothing I do in this story has a childish and immature meaning behind it. Everything has a deeper hidden meaning behind it for the future of this story. Even that part with Sasuke back in his house. That has a bigger meaning behind it than you may think.

Also, do not worry for all you Kakashi fans. He will still play a role, a big one, later as the story progresses. Besides, the Hokage's reasoning for him not instructing a team is enough of an explanation as to why I felt he shouldn't be the instructor. Also, Kakashi is the Hokage's apprentice, so it only makes sense that Kakashi would take a place right next to the Hokage in the ANBU squad, protecting the Hokage. And another reason I didn't make Kakashi the instructor is because it is just done so many times in stories that retell the journey of Naruto's team through the whole Genin process. So I chose someone I hadn't seen yet. If you have followed the manga any then you know why I like him. A little stern but loose, laid back, talented, funny, and overall, a great character. So I think he fits in with this new team.

For those who were wondering what was Naruto's rank...well...I guess I could give you his rank. Academics...worst. He passed, yes, but with the help of Hinata and Shikamaru. Ninjutsu, second in the class by the time the final year was over. Genjutsu, dead last. There are just some things you can and can't do. Taijutsu, once again, close to the top. Sasuke was at the top but if you payed attention to his observation of a particular person in his class...cough...then you see that maybe he wasn't the best. But the fact is that graded wise, he was the top, Hinata was second, Kiba was third, but barely, and Naruto was a close fourth. Overall, in a class of thirteen, he was probably sixth or seventh, and among the rookie nine, he was fifth or sixth. There you go...and why did I make him dense? Come on...he's Naruto. There's some things you can change with effort and there are some things you just can't change. He isn't a good studier, therefore, sucks at academics.

A preview for next chapter? Well...I guess I could give you a basic thing here.

Next chapter: Team Seven's Jounin Instructor asks for an assessment of skill level and explains what is expected from them while under his tutilege. Meanwhile, the reason for the shortage of available ninjas is discovered as Kakashi questions his sensei's most recent decisions.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm back ladies and gentlemen with some good news. The response to the last chapter was so large that it inspired me to actually write this chapter in about two or three days, can't be sure when I was finished with it generally. But, things have been coming up, I'm currently on vacation in South Carolina for little something before I head back home and study my ass off for the National Exam in week's time. Now, onto my responses to some questions I have received about this latest chapter.

To **Edengrave**, I guess I should have had a semi-chapter inbetween Chapters 3 and 4, eh? Really, the truth of the matter is is that Naruto, despite having four years to work on stuff, I had him be, well, lazy. The Shikamaru disease. He was lazy and therefore didn't try as hard as he should have. That was the real reason. It was only when Neji owned him in one-on-one competition that Naruto became aware of how his slack attitude had gotten him down to the lower ranks and he finally cared about his training and thus trained his ass off. Now at the end of Chapter 4 I said that in the long run, as in out of the whole class for the whole four year period, Naruto wasn't first, but if they had an award for best turn-around student, then Naruto would have won it for how he turned things around in the fourth year.

As for Sasuke and everyone elses progression, Sasuke was the best student still because the fact is that back in the actual timeline, he was considered a genius and he didn't have parents there to help him. In my story he does have parents and his brother is there to give him a goal to reach. If Sasuke didn't have his parents or his brother and he still was the best then how much better do you think he would be WITH his parents hmm? Also, as to what drives Sasuke? You'll find that out in this chapter.

Last Chapter and the response I received from the people who reviewed was awesome and I'd like to go ahead and say thank you to all of you who have read this story so far and have given me your reviews. I also want to say that I'm glad you all are enjoying it. Last chapter had a large approval and I'm hoping that as this story progresses that it will get more people interested. Now even though I said I won't plead for reviews, it would help for this chapter because this one I'm a little nervous about. It's my first attempt at a large fight scene. I'm hoping that I gave enough detail so that you will be able to visualize how the battle actually flows.

Another decision I have made. I have decided that, since some of you like my portrayal of the Yondaime, that I will probably have him in at least one scene per chapter. Writing the Fourth into the story has been fun, as has the whole explanation of politics and such - and I continue that with this chapter too. The first scene of this chapter, I personally believe, is the best I've done so far but you all may have a different opinion. Anyhoo, I hope you like it.

**A/N:** After much deliberation on the fact that I have yet to give a name to the Fourth Hokage for the reason that I just don't like the thought of naming him something then being wrong, I have decided to give him the name everyone else gives him in their stories. Hey...if I'm gonna be wrong then everyone else can be wrong with me and I wont look dumb :)

Chp. 5 - Cell Seven: Konoha's Royalty

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Kakashi stood next to his sensei, wearing the mask of the ANBU, but was obviously agitated. He kept tapping his fingers against his arms and biceps, and his foot kept tapping the floor in an annoying pattern that kept disrupting the blonde haired man behind the desk. After failing to find a suitable way to approach the tender subject, he chose to just attack it head on.

"Arashi-sensei, why wouldn't you let me have my own team? Why? You know that I have waited for the opportunity. So why couldn't I have had Team Seven? And why did you feel it necessary to pull Yamato from the ANBU as it's captain to teach a team and then appoint me in his place, hmm?" His questions, he knew, would probably have a cryptic answer that he would have to resolve like a riddle in order to find the true answer to his questions. What he expected, and what actually happened, were two different things though.

"Kakashi, you have taken Yamato's place for a reason. You belong in the ANBU. As the captain, too. And as for the reason I did not give you the team is because I wanted YOU to handle something for me." He then reached into a drawer in his desk and pulled out a folder and opened it, taking out a document of some kind and looking over it for a few moments. "As you know, some of our ninjas are over in Wave Country, helping to pick some of the communities up from the depths of poverty and destruction. In one particular town, a man known as Tazuna is attempting to build a bridge to help let traffic into and out of their little city in order to boost the economy of the area. There have been complications, however. Some of our finest have been taken down recently and it is becoming a hassle to protect the bridge builder."

"Our ninjas have been dying over there? Why haven't you done something about it? Who's killed them?" Kakashi asked, now frantic and upset at the fact that this was the first time he had heard of any deaths over in Wave Country. It was true that many ninjas were over there to help rebuild certain communities because of grinding poverty. Konoha had taken a position in the matter and started giving aid to certain parts that were in the most danger of dying and becoming uninhabital. For this reason, many ninjas were scattered across Fire Country and Wave Country, seriously depleting the amount of truly skilled shinobi in Konoha down to it's finest which was the reason for the lack of ninjas offered for this years class of graduees. And now, Kakashi was being told the ninja were being killed.

"Yes Kakashi, they've been dying. To your second question, I just have one question for you? What could I do against an unknown foe, hmm? If we did not have any knowledge of the enemy, then if I sent more ninjas over there to face the enemy, it would be like sending blind sheep to the slaughter. No Kakashi, I had to wait to do what was best for our people. But now we know who is responsible." Arashi layed a picture of a shady looking man onto the desk and slid it towards Kakashi, who picked it up to stare at it carefully. A smug, cruel smile and dark shades covering his eyes only helped to give the man a more shady appearance. The man's hair was gray and he had wrinkles on his forehead, signifying that he was old. The question now was who was this man and what did he have to do with everything? "That man, Kakashi, is a tycoon called Gatou. He came into Wave Country and pushed his power around, picking up the right people and gaining more and more territory. Eventually he had monopolized more than half of the country and oppressed them with his goons. Normally, these swords-for-hire would be easy enough for our chuunins to take down but apparently Gatou's wealth has been put into the pocket of a rather vicious and dangerous rogue nin from Hidden Mist by the name of Momochi Zabuza." Kakashi visibly tensed up after hearing the rogue nin's name.

"THE Momochi Zabuza? Momochi Zabuza of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist?" When Arashi nodded grimly, Kakashi gritted his teeth. "That bastard. He'll do anything for money. So, what is my role in this?"

"You, Kakashi, along with Itachi, Hayate, and Genma shall go and take down Zabuza, Gatou, and all of Gatou's men, understand? This will be performed swiftly, thoroughly, and with the utmost efficiency. I don't want any civilians caught in the crossfire."

"You really think Itachi will be necessary? Why not give me-" but he was cut off by the Yondaime's hand raising for him to stop.

"Itachi shall be coming because I feel it is necessary. Zabuza is not working alone. He has a young man with him too, probably his apprentice, if you can believe it. The young man has been heard to go by the name of Haku and seems to have a powerful bloodlimit that gives him special control over ice. You and Itachi should be more than enough for these men, though. There will be no negotiations this time around. Too much blood has been spilt over this matter. You will take them down by any means necessary. When these people decided to attack our allies and our own people, they forfeited all bargaining rights. We will show no mercy to those who attack allies, for it is as though they are attacking Konoha itself, which they have done. I want you all to leave by this evening and send me frequent updates. Two weeks should be enough for a mission of this magnitude. Now go!" he said with vicious intensity, his emotions climbing high as he explained the circumstances. Kakashi noticed this too and admired his sensei. The man, while having some quirks here and there and making a strange decision or two, always had the best of intentions for his village, his people, and his allies. Kakashi knew he couldn't fail in this mission, he would not let his sensei down, especially since it was his first mission as ANBU captain since...a while.

"Hai, Arashi-sensei." and with a quick wave, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Arashi turned around in his chair and looked out the window and up to the sky. _'I've tried so hard to do so much for the village but it just seems that we end up getting dragged into these inter-country wars and disputes. Will we ever have peace around us?'_ He hung his head and, for the first time in a long time, while no one was around to see him do so, let his unwavering mask drop and he looked absolutely miserable.

"You look like you could use a drink, my friend." Arashi jerked his head up to see his sensei staring at him from one corner of the room with an understanding smile on his face.

"You read me like an open book, ero-sennin. Let us take a break." Jiraiya's vein on his forehead pulsed visibly at the sound of his pupil's nickname for him but just laughed whole-heartedly as his pupil did so. That was the power of the Yondaime. The power to change the atmosphere in a heartbeat.

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"So where are we heading, Yamato-sensei?" asked an impatient Naruto, as they calmly made their way through streets, heading towards one of the designated areas where training grounds were scattered about. In all of Konoha, Naruto remembered Iruka-sensei telling the class that there were approximately 48 training grounds. The ones that were most note-worthy were the last eight - training grounds 40-47 - because they were the most complex and dangerous, urban legends telling of strange things affecting those areas and only experienced ninjas can handle those areas. The place they were approaching, if he was right, was the designated spot for training grounds 7-13. Fact that they had enough space in Konoha for 48 training grounds baffled Naruto, helping him to understand the vastness of his village. Just goes to show how much Konoha had grown over the years.

Yamato continued to walk on while, Naruto thought, ignoring the question. The fact was Yamato didn't know really. He just chose a spot in Konoha where he knew there were training grounds and started walking that way. He wasn't really experienced in the whole training and mentoring thing. He was a fighter, a warrior, and he was put in charge of turning these three into the same thing. After realizing where he was heading to, he chose one of the grounds in the area mentally and addressed his team. "Training ground 13 has sufficient space, let's head there. First thing for the day, let's see how well you move. Hurry to training area 13 as fast as you can for speed assessment. GO!" he ordered, as he ran to the trees that were close by this time. Jumping from tree to tree in a blurring fashion, his students were left gawking at their sensei's speed.

"He's fast and I doubt he's really trying. This might prove to be interesting." said Sasuke, who had remained relatively quiet, as had Hinata. He then looked at his two teammates very quickly then moved towards the trees to go to their designated area. Naruto, not wanting to be outdone, ran to the trees as well, with Hinata close on his heels, but he was moving faster than she was and put distance between each other rather quickly. He was catching up to Sasuke, closing the gap between them, smiling as he did so. Sasuke was always a quiet guy in their class, not really very outgoing, always making himself more distant from those around him and never taking the initiative to get to know his fellow classmates. His confidence, though, was something that did not go unnoticed by Naruto. The young Uchiha was very confident in his abilities and would not go about in a manner as to not flount it. He wanted people to see him, it seemed, as though he desired the attention. If Sasuke were to have any thoughts that he might be held back by him and Hinata, then Naruto believed he had another thing coming.

When they finally reached Area 13, they came to a stop in front of Yamato, who was standing there as if he had been waiting for an hour. It had been only a span of two minutes but Naruto had pushed alot of chakra into his legs to give him a better jump across the tree branches. What Naruto was surprised about was the fact that he didn't notice Hinata had closed in on them. They damn near came to a stop at the same time.

Yamato saw how they had all picked up their speed and how they were all a little winded from that activity. He mentally cursed the fact that he would have to work on stamina, as well as some of the more advanced exercises to help their progression under him. He began to wonder if it was too early for one particular thing but he dismissed it when he heard saw that they had recovered their breath and were now staring at him expectantly. "Good, you all have excellent speed but seem to lack stamina. If you didn't notice, you were all using a bit too much chakra in your legs when you jumped." At their confused and curious looks, he continued. "You all put more chakra than was needed into your legs for the short jumps you were making. You should have been using less chakra for the small jumps and use more when you make a longer jump." All three's faces become suddenly solemn as they realized he had been right. Naruto was especially embarrassed. "I'll work with you all on that later. Right now, let's get a good, thorough assessment of you all. First, introductions. I know you all know each other, but I don't know you, and you don't know me. So I'll start. My name is Yamato. I enjoy relaxing in the sunshine and peace and tranquility. I dislike those who disregard the well-being of nature around them and those who abuse the land. I feel that people who litter and wastefully cut down trees are scum. My goal is to assist Konoha and the Hokage in keeping the country beautiful and peaceful. Who's next?"

Sasuke stood up next, looking at each of the people in his group. Letting out a sigh, he started with his introduction. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke. I enjoy the time I have to train and spar. I want nothing more than to become stronger. I dislike anyone who stands in the way of that path. My goal...is to become stronger than my brother." That was not what Naruto was expecting to hear out of Sasuke's mouth. Sasuke was wanting to be stronger than his brother and when he said it, he said it with a slight hint of desperation. Naruto decided he should go next so he stood up.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I love ramen alot and never get tired of it. I enjoy being around my friends and hate uptight, smug, arrogant people." As he finished, he gave a quick stare at Sasuke, who noticed it and returned the stare. "My goal...is to become strong enough to protect those precious to me...I guess that means I would want to become the Hokage then." He chuckled lightly, finding amusement in that statement that no one else seemed to see. He rubbed the back of his neck for a moment more before he sat back down. Yamato was beginning to notice a pattern here but needed to hear Hinata's introduction before he could be sure, so he looked at her expectantly. She began to stand up, shaking ever so slightly and her face a little red.

"I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I enjoy spending time in the garden at our home and seeing people happy. I dislike pointless arguments and meaningless confrontations. M-my goal is become stronger so that I can gain the recognition of my family." When she finished speaking, her head hung a little bit and Naruto, once again, felt that twinge inside of him. She did nothing but try her hardest but was always overshadowed. Nobody saw it, nobody saw the truth behind Hinata. He could only hope that since they were on a team with this guy, Yamato, that she, as well as he, could become stronger.

Yamato nodded at her, closed his eyes, and took all the information into account. _'It appears that they all desire to become stronger so that they can be recognized. Each one wants to become strongers so that they can step out of the shadows of something. Sasuke wants to step out of the shadows of his brother's reputation. Naruto wants to step out of the shadows of his father's reputation. Hinata wants to step out of the shadows of her family's reputation. They all want to be seen as their own selves and not as someone from their families.' _"Very well, now that that is out of the way, let's begin with a practical skills display. Show me something you are good at." They all looked at each other and Sasuke took the initiative to ask something that had been bugging him.

"What about you? What are you good at, Yamato-sensei? I mean, it only makes sense that our teacher would show to his students the reason he is our teacher, don't you think?" Yamato thought about the young boy's words, nodded his head in understanding, and walked to a patch of dead grass on the ground. Bending down, he performed a series of handseals - seven in all, Sasuke mentally noted - and slammed his right hand, palm open, onto the ground. They all felt the chakra swell in his hand and then disperse when it collided with the ground. Now they were all waiting for something to happen and wow, did it ever happen.

The ground started to tremor and they could see a faint green glow from the dead grass. Suddenly the dirt started to give way to a green vine that began growing straight up. The green vine started to become thicker and thicker, suddenly taking the color of brown, as long branches branched out in about nine different places. The leaves were of the healthiest looking green and apples even grew from it. Naruto's mouth hung open at the sight, as did Sasuke's, but Hinata smiled, thinking it was the greatest thing she had ever seen done. She marveled in its beauty and couldn't believe anyone was skilled enough to make such a tree grow. Yamato held out a hand as an apple fell into it and he casually tossed it Sasuke, who caught it dumbly. "There you go, that's one of my more common techniques. Your turn, Sasuke-kun." Sasuke's eyes changed from shocked, to surprised, to one of inspiration. He performed the required handseals and shouted his technique to them. "**Katon: Fireball jutsu**." He then breathed out a stream of fire that ignited the tree Yamato had just made and in a matter of seconds was turned to ash. Yamato had taken a few steps back from the heat and once it died away, his tree being reduced to ash, he looked at Sasuke with a mixed look of acknowledgement and regret.

"Sasuke, why would you do that to Yamato-sensei's tree?" Naruto asked, his anger rising at Sasuke's boldness.

"He asked for a practical skills display. I displayed one of my skills. Besides, that was a jutsu he used to create the tree, he can make another one. No big deal."

"Actually, Sasuke-kun, I can't just 'make another one.' The soil is finite. When the rich nutrients in the ground have been used up from growing plants and trees, then the soil dies and needs to be refertilized. What I did was not a technique to make a tree but a technique to reverse the effects of time on the soil. Therefore, whatever used to be in this area of dead grass would regrow. I didn't grow a tree, I regrew it. But what you did was impressive, that technique is chuunin level and very dangerous in the hands of someone who does not know how to use it. You have perfect control and I'm very impressed." While Sasuke would've smiled at the compliment, the knowledge of what Yamato did humbled him to great lengths. Growing a tree was a difficult task indeed, but if he did what he said he did then this man was performing techniques on ANBU levels, if he was right. "Now, let's see what you can do, Hinata."

_'What can I do? I have nothing like Sasuke-kun has. What can I possibly do as a skill that doesn't involve me hurting someone else?'_ She looked at the apple in Sasuke's hands and came up with an idea. She had never tried it before but it could work. "S-Sasuke-kun, could I have that apple in your hand?" He shrugged his shoulders and tossed it to her. She caught it and held it in the palm of one of her hands. She then took two fingers - her index and middle fingers - and used them to poke the apple in a specific point. Yamato paid close attention and noticed that her eyes had veins throbbing. _'She activated her byakugan and I didn't even notice.'_ What happened to the apple really surprised him. It went from it's healthy and fresh looking green to a sickly looking brown in a matter of seconds. _'She put her chakra into it and killed it. Impressive.'_ "Very good, Hinata, I am impressed that you were able to do such a thing."

"What exactly did she do, sensei?" asked Naruto, a little puzzled.

"She closed off the chakra in that apple and it died. You see, since the tree was made with chakra, so were the apples that grew off of it. If the chakra is interfered with, it dies rather quickly." Naruto still didn't quite get it but he got the basics of it. Her family's ability helped her to kill the apple. "Now, Naruto, it is your turn. Let's see what you can do." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully while trying to think of something. _'Well, I guess I could do that. Iruka-sensei was impressed with it.'_ Coming to a decision, he formed the ram seal and said his technique's name. "Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" and poof, after the smoke settled, there stood three Narutos, all looking like each other perfectly. Sasuke didn't think it special until he realized exactly what he said. _'He can perform Kage Bunshin? But...' _He couldn't think of anything else, the fact that Naruto had just done a jounin level technique blew his mind away. Hinata was in awe, she was so proud for Naruto that he had finally performed the technique he had been taught before he attended the academy.

Yamato was just as impressed as everyone else was. _'A girl who can even out a fight with a simple knick, even if she is overwhelmed. A boy who has the potential to master any jutsu he wants. And another boy who has mastered a jounin technique that is supposed to be forbidden. I'll have to have a talk with the Hokage about this but it still is impressive. These three have incredible potential.'_ "Naruto, how long have you been able to perform the technique?"

"Umm..bout a month now. I had been taught how to use only a necessary amount of chakra in a lot of the easier techniques that it took me a while to understand that the more chakra I put into this technique, the better the results." He then dismissed the other two bunshins and there was only one Naruto now.

"Very good, all of you. You have shown why you are who you are. Now, let's move on. Tomorrow, you will all meet me in front of the Hokage's Tower at 8 AM. There, we will speak with the Hokage as he gives us our first mission. I won't lie to you, they won't be anything dangerous or daring. They will be D-class missions that will involve you all doing tasks for clients inside of the village. Until tomorrow, since we still have plenty of daylight, let's continue with our routine. Next will be taijutsu. You each will have to try and land one strike on me. We'll go with 30 minute intervals or until you can't go on. In the case you do land a blow on me, you can stay by and work with whoever is not working with me. After about three hours we'll go on break and then we can resume. We'll start with you Sasuke."

Sasuke stepped forward without giving the exercise much thought. He personally believed it to be a waste of time but if he could just land his blow then he wouldn't have to do this stupid exercise and he could do whatever he wanted to. He crouched into a fighting position and stared at his sensei with unyielding eyes. The eyes were what Yamato were focused on and it was what happened next that made him realize that Sasuke was taking this quite seriously. The eyes went from onyx black to crimson dark red with two wheels forming on the sides. He had activated his sharingan and was leaving no room for a lackadaisical approach. Sasuke was going to come at him and the eyes showed a bitterness for some reason. Yamato did not get into a fighting position though and this was what surprised Sasuke but he didn't let it show.

He ran right at Yamato, swinging with a right hook but it was blocked by Yamato's right hand lazily. It appeared that by the way he blocked him that Sasuke would lose his balance but instead of tumbling to the ground, Sasuke put weight onto his right foot, balancing himself and swinging his left foot upwards, heel aimed for his face but it too was caught by Yamato's right hand. He gripped Sasuke's left leg, swung out his legs in a sweeping manner and tossed Sasuke haphazardly in a direction - which direction he didn't care - and Sasuke tumbled to the ground. Gritting his teeth in agitation, Sasuke rose to his feet, brushed off the dirt from his shirt and pants in a cool and calm manner, and suddenly formed a quick set of handseals and fired three small fireballs at him. Yamato did his own set of handseals, much faster than he had when he made the tree grow, and thrusted the open palm into the ground again. This time a wall of mud rose, blocking the fireballs and, after another quick six handseals, captured Sasuke in what looked like roots to a tree. He struggled to escape but could not do so, the roots being much stronger than ropes or any other binding tool. He was completely helpless as Yamato walked up to him and leaned into his ear.

"I did not say anything about using ninjutsu in a taijutsu practice but I'm willing to if you want. Wood is naturally burned by Fire styles and techniques, but in order to use the Wood element, you have to have become accustomed to Earth and Water chakra styles, both of which defeat Fire. So you can continue to try and use your techniques to defeat me but they won't work, young Sasuke." Sasuke visibly trembled with anger at being so easily handled in combat. He was embarrassed. "We are through. You need time to cool down. Hinata, your turn. Let's see if you can keep a cool head unlike our teammate here." Yamato then touched the bindings and they released him, sinking back into the ground. Sasuke stormed off to the sidelines and sat down, glaring at his teacher. Either Yamato didn't see it or he just didn't care. He was more interested in Hinata and how she would do. Sasuke, now noticing that the girl was about to fight, decided to let what happened to him drop.

Naruto, who wanted to tease Sasuke so badly for how he was just owned, was also paying attention to Hinata. He told her before she had gone up to do her best, that he knew she was capable of one hit. She shuffled her way up to be a little ways away from Yamato and stood there dumbly. _'Come on, Hinata. We're no longer in the academy. Granted it was just yesterday we got out but I know why you acted the way you did. Now's not the time for such thoughts.'_ He hated how she had not gotten the recognition she truly deserved in the class. She was damn near the best student in the class but she had a tendency to not give it her all in the department of fighting. A fighting style that could kill your opponent if you hit them the wrong - or right - way was an unnerving weight on the girl's conscience. She did not want to hurt people, it was just her nature, but she had stated that she wanted to be strong. The only way to become strong was to prove you had the drive. To prove she had the drive, she would have to combat their new teacher and from the looks of him, he was not going to be any slouch. He smiled with satisfaction though when she slid into her fighting stance, her byakugan activating. Naruto actually felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up slightly. He always got like this when he felt her attitude change. This was the Hinata he wanted to see. He wanted everyone to see this Hinata, the Hinata that you feared to go up against.

Yamato was silently amused by how Naruto's words, whatever they were, seemed to change her demeanor so quickly. Her byakugan now active and her fighting stance in place, it was simply a matter of waiting. She leapt into action, running at a good speed towards him, much faster than Sasuke had and thrusted an open palm for his stomach. He carefully blocked her by swinging his right hand down to chop at her extended arm's wrist, forcing her to detour to nothingness. She quickly recovered, like Sasuke had, and putting weight into her footing she spun a lot more nimbly through the motion and with her left hand aimed two fingers to his left side. He grabbed her left hand and gripped it, trying his hardest to not be hit by her or her chakra. Now with her left hand caught, she slid with her weight being on her left foot and turned to face him, thrusting with her right palm to his face. He caught this hand and she knew she had him. He had made a grave miscalculation. The only way he could now avoid being hit was to release her hands. Dipping her body to the ground slightly, she kicked up and thrusted her knee towards his midsection. He moved back just slightly, not releasing his grip on her hands and was completely taken off guard by the fact that she followed through with the knee thrust and thrusted her left leg at him in a bicycle kick. He released her hands and did a backflip. Now out of his clutches, she cheered a silent victory because now that he was off balance slightly, she could probably land a blow on him. After he landed, he saw her perform a cartwheel towards him. He stepped back to give himself some range from her. When she got out of the movement, she swung her left arm in a sweeping motion towards his exposed midsection, which he quickly blocked with his right hand but felt a slight sting on that arm after doing so. Looking towards the source, he saw two fingers jabbing into his tricep of the blocking arm. Smiling brightly at the young Hyuuga girl, he relaxed and bowed slightly. "Very good job, Hinata. You may go off and practice with Sasuke if you two wish to do so. I became sloppy trying to dodge your Jyuuken and ended up paying for it." She nodded at him, smiling as well at his compliment of her performance.

Naruto couldn't help but want to laugh at the look on Sasuke's face. It was of utter horror at how Hinata had bested their sensei in taijutsu. Naruto knew though, as Hinata probably did, that he was holding back. Naruto didn't want to face Yamato at full strength. He would probably get wiped off the face of the planet in a matter of seconds. He wanted to test them, not abuse and humiliate them. He did what he did to Sasuke because the dumbass needed to be humbled. As Hinata walked over to them, Naruto couldn't contain himself anymore. "Way to go, Hinata. I knew you could do it." She blushed lightly at his praise but nodded in acknowledgement. "Arigatou, Naruto-kun." He just smiled dumbly, stood up and walked over to Yamato, knowing that he was about to call him over.

Yamato, meanwhile, was rubbing his arm to try and get some feeling back into it. That attack to his arm was different from the normal hakke attacks of the jyuuken. He could still tell that chakra was running through that arm but it seemed that the muscle she had struck was numb. Trying his best to ignore it, he looked at Naruto who seemed to be itching to start. Finding it quite humerous that the boy was eager for a sparring session, he chose to not let the boy keep on waiting. "Come on Naruto, if you are ready." Naruto didn't even get in a fighting style position. He ran as fast as he could, which was incredibly fast, Yamato noted, and swung wildly. The problem with the way Naruto was fighting was that if an opponent wanted to hurt him then his attacks would leave him wide open. The problem with that approach against Naruto was the fact that the blonde was quick on the recovery. Every time it would seem he would miss and start to take a tumble he would just readjust almost immediately and strike at him again. If Yamato were to try and actually fight him instead of just blocking, he was pretty sure Naruto would be willing to trade a blow for a blow, which would be dumb. But that was how his fighting pattern right now was showing. It could be that Naruto realized that Yamato wasn't going to strike back and was just trying to avoid the one blow he had to land and therefore was just trying to attack as fast as he could, as unpredictably as he could. For about five minutes straight Naruto and Yamato went through the same process until Naruto had to stop real quick to catch his breath.

_'Damn, he's a bit faster than I thought he would be. I know he's hold back against us but I didn't think he was using this much speed against Hinata.'_ He closed his eyes and calmed himself. He had 25 more minutes before he would be asked to sit back down. It wouldn't do to just expend so much energy the first time around that he would be exhausted the rest of the day, in case he didn't land his blow on the first try. Finally calming himself, he decided to take another approach. He was actually gonna pay attention to how Yamato was going about blocking and avoiding him. He didn't have Hinata's perceptive eyes - nor Sasuke's sharingan eyes, but he didn't know whether or not it was as perceptive as the Byakugan - so he would just have to focus his mind so that he could pick up any sudden openings whenever they appeared. Opening his eyes, he stared at Yamato with a determined look, grinned, and then bolted right at him again. This time, he was moving faster, pumping chakra into his legs and speeding his way towards the man, who took a defensive posture, ready for whatever happened.

Sasuke sat and watched with careful interest, wanting to scout out their sensei as much as possible. He too had noticed the fact that the man was holding back against them. One, Yamato only used ninjutsu against him but that was because he had used ninjutsu to attack him. Two, he wasn't doing anything offensively and while only on the defensive, even though it looked like he was blocking and dodging with speedy movements, they appeared to be sluggish and lazily performed. Yamato's speed was also being held back and that quickly made him realize why this man had that strange alure to him. Sasuke had felt something different about him, a strange aura radiated from him and Sasuke felt that this was the reason. The man was unnaturally strong for a jounin-rank shinobi. _'I would've thought that the team I would be put on would be lucky if we got a strong enough instructor like that Kakashi that brother has spoken about. But now, **IF **I'm correct, then we have an instructor who is ANBU level. This will prove to be very beneficial. He will definitely be able to help me get stronger.' _Snapped out of his thoughts, he saw Naruto miss with an axe kick he performed in the air, while recovering from missing a horizontal kick to Yamato's head. When he landed, Naruto performed a backflip while thrusting his right foot at Yamato in a reverse crescent kick. Yamato backed up, narrowly missing the kick and was thrown completely off guard by Naruto's next move, as was Sasuke. _'Did Naruto just do what I think he did? He certainly is a bit surprising. Maybe those first years at the academy don't tell the story of him.'_

Naruto, after attempting that reverse crescent kick, landed in a crouched position and focused all of his body's weight into the front part of his feet, his hands on the ground, fingers extended and used to keep him balanced, and he started to pump a large amount of chakra into his feet. Looking up, he saw that Yamato, who had just backed up to avoid his last attack, was vulnerable and left himself open to a sudden and lightning quick attack. Seizing this opportunity, the one he had been looking for for the past ten minutes since he changed his strategy, he launched himself right at Yamato, the chakra he had been building up in his feet giving him an enormous boost and propelling towards his target. Yamato couldn't, even if he was moving at top speed, recover from avoiding Naruto's kick and react to the sudden attack he was now performing. Yamato was hit, right at his sternum, the blow being incredible and with a surprising amount of force. What surprised Naruto was the fact that Yamato dissolved into dirt and he had nothing but air left to travel until he would hit the ground. Tucking himself into a ball, he slowed his movement and spun in a 360 degree pattern and landed on the ground, applying chakra to his feet again to stick to it and slide across the ground. He then looked to where Yamato had been and saw him appear from the earth.

"Sorry about that Naruto, guess it was just instinct." Yamato said to him, laughing lightly.

"Yeah, okay. But what was that just now? Some kind of Kawarimi?" Naruto asked him, not understanding what he did.

"Yes but it's a different variation of Kawarimi. I apply the same principle's but instead of switching with a log or a clone or something along those lines, I gather chakra into the soil underneath me, and the chakra I put into the ground takes the form of me and I just switch places with that one. Since my chakra has an affinity to water and earth, I'm able to do such things as that without much effort at all." Once again, Naruto was confused, but accepted the explanation. "Anyways, you passed that test. If I hadn't done that technique, you were definitely gonna hit me and probably do some damage. You have a good grasp on how to control chakra and focus it. Your speed is most impressive and you earned your victory. Go sit down and rest up. You probably used up a good bit of chakra so far today." Naruto nodded, smiling, and turned around to his fellow teammates, giving a thumbs-up and smiling at them in the 'victory' pose. Hinata giggled lightly while Sasuke gave him an incredulous look as Naruto walked over to them.

"Hey dobe, how come, if you are so good at chakra control, you had such a hard time in the academy." It was bothering him that the boy seemed to have a much better grasp at using chakra and applying it to his limbs to assist in movement and stuff like that. Naruto gave him a quick glare for the 'dobe' comment.

"Well, I don't really know why, I guess I just forgot about it. We were always doing 'practices' and so I never really felt threatened or provoked enough to focus chakra to assist me. That's how I learned to use my chakra in that manner. Only as necessity." Sasuke gave a thoughtful look at the blonde boy who had been pegged early after the way he barely scraped by in the first year at the academy as an idiot. He guessed that since Naruto was the Yondaime's son, that he expected more out of him. But all it really went to show was that you didn't have to be openly extraordinary to be good. Just because he wasn't good at academics didn't mean that he wasn't good at being a ninja. He smiled very slightly, so slightly it wasn't caught by Naruto, and stood up. He was determined to land his blow this time. He had enough time to calm down. If Naruto was able to do it, then he could too. Coming to his most recent conclusions, he decided that just because he was the best at the academy did not mean he was the very best around. All he had to do was land one blow and that was all. He wasn't expected to defeat their sensei, nobody could do that at their level. Walking towards Yamato, he stopped after only a few yards separated them.

"Have you had enough time to calm down, Sasuke?" The boy nodded. "Are you going to try and burn me?" The boy shook his head. "Good, then whenever you are ready." Sasuke didn't waste anytime. He activated his Sharingan and ran straight at him. But instead of swinging like he did last time, he chose to slide down by Yamato's feet. Stopping right there, he rolled on his back till his body weight was on the back of his head. Using his hands, which were positioned close to his head, he shifted till his legs were in the air and tucked against his chest and, pushing up with his hands, thrusted them right at Yamato's chest. Yamato did a couple of backflips and landed gracefully, sliding to a stop and awaiting Sasuke's next move. When he landed on his feet, Sasuke ran back to Yamato, aggravated that his attack didn't work but pushing his aggravations aside. Punches and kicks were performed in rapid succession from the Uchiha boy and blocks and dodges were performed against the assault by Yamato, and it went on like this for several minutes.

Naruto was watching them fight but decided to turn his attention to Hinata real quick. "So, you seemed to have the easiest time out of all of us. You did really well Hinata, I mean that." She again blushed from his compliment. Naruto was determined to get her out of her shell. She was still shy and a little timid, but she had definitely changed over the years. Her stutter had almost disappeared unless the attention of a group of people was put on her when she spoke. She still tended to remain quiet in a group but if you asked her questions, she would be more open with the responses. What really made Naruto happy though was that she wasn't nervous around him anymore. She tended to get red-faced a little when speaking to him or when he would speak to her, but she laughed more and relaxed more when he was around than when they had first started hanging out with each other. It started about the end of their third year and it slowly progressed more and more. He awaited her response to his compliment when she turned to look at him.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun. You did very well yourself."

"Yeah. I guess I did, even if I did it in an...unorthodox method." he responded, scratching the back of his head. He was still paying attention to the action going on between their sensei and Sasuke. Sasuke was still attacking but seemed to be getting winded while Yamato seemed to have not broken a sweat yet. "But what I did was nothing compared to you. You knew exactly what you were doing. I was forced to improvise." She giggled at him again, when he said that, the sight of him attempting a flying headbutt to their sensei being a very amusing thing to her. Naruto laughed too but then stopped when he saw that Sasuke had landed his blow. Even though it was a glancing one, he still struck Yamato.

Sasuke was getting fed up with constantly being blocked and dodged. He looked at how Yamato seemed to favor certain ways of blocking certain maneuvers and after he pondered everything he had seen from Naruto and Hinata fighting him, as well as what had happened this time around, he came to a conclusion he believed would work. If one hit was all it took then he would get him when he wouldn't expect it. Backing up a little from Yamato, Sasuke crouched down, took a runner's stance, and made a beline for him. When he was just a few feet away from him, he dipped down and gave a sweeping kick to Yamato's feet. When Yamato jumped back, Sasuke saw his opportunity. Since he had swept with his left leg from right to left, he was in a position to push off with his right leg to continue his pursuit against Yamato, which he did. Now with the advantage, Sasuke pushed off with his right leg and brought his left knee out in front of him to strike. Yamato caught it out of reflex and realized he made a mistake. Using his momentum, Sasuke followed through by bringing his right knee up to strike at his midsection but Yamato moved back to avoid that, only to be hit in his jaw by the same leg he just tried to avoid. Sasuke had extended the leg and aimed the toes out to strike at his sensei's jaw and connected, even if it was just a minor graze. He still had done it and was satisfied. It took about twenty minutes, but he had done it. Yamato rubbed his chin thoughtfully, not because it hurt. He smiled at Sasuke and was very pleased with their abilities already.

"Very good, Sasuke. Excellent, everyone. All three of you are far beyond my expectations already. Maybe you are ready for it." Sasuke was still smiling at his accomplishment but was slightly confused by Yamato's words. Same went for Naruto and Hinata.

"What is it that you mean, Yamato-sensei?" asked Hinata, standing up and brushing off dirt from her baggy dark pants.

"A very good question, and for you to understand why I wouldn't have thought that you were ready for it is because it is something that usually any shinobi doesn't do until probably the age of 15 or 16, but I think you are all ready for it. I'll explain during lunch. Let's go." They all set off out of their training area, making their way back to the main portion of Konoha and deciding on Ichiraku's Ramen, to the delight of Naruto.

(About ten or so minutes later)

Naruto had already gone through his second bowl by the time everyone else was halfway through with their first bowl. Sasuke looked at him in disgust, the sloppy eating habits being unappitizing, Hinata giggled whenever he sighed with satisfaction after finishing a bowl, and Yamato just looked at him in awe and horror. This could end up costing him a good bit of money. When Naruto's third bowl was served by the daughter of the man who owned the shop, he dug into it but gave a curious glance to Yamato, who noticed it. After slurping up some noodles, he tried to ask him something but the noodles in his throat got in the way. After gagging slightly and finally swallowing them, he proceeded to ask what he had tried to a moment ago.

"Yamato-sensei, you said you were going to explain this thing you were talking about, right?" Yamato snapped back to reality, realizing that everyone seemed to be waiting for him.

"Yes. Yes I was, Naruto. Thank you for reminding me. This thing I am referring to is way to find out what it is you specialize in. In other words, what your chakra is more comfortable with." The looks of his young genins were telling him to continue. "First off, before I get into this, I want you all to know exactly what your team is supposed to be. The past several years, the new genins have been separated into teams that specialize in a department, rather than just putting random people together that might end up not complimenting each other. In your class, there were nine who stood out. You three, the three in Team Eight, and the three in Team Ten each have a designated roll and were therefore teamed up for that purpose. Team Eight is taught by Kurenai, who is a master of genjutsu and is incredible in stealth. She will be teaching her team the art of spying and reconaissance. Team Ten is being taught by Asuma, who is the son of the Third Hokage, is an excellent strategist and grappler. He will be able to assist his team and teach them the art of investigation and capturing."

"So Team Eight is a spy team and Team Ten is an investigations team?" asked Naruto. Yamato nodded. "Then what is our team's purpose? What purpose do we serve?" asked Naruto again.

"Well, our team has no 'special' abilities that separate you into a particular class of ninjas. But as it was proven out in the training field today, you all are particularly well balanced in the art of combat. Team Seven was formed with the full purpose of being this year's combat cell. You all have incredible potential and it was felt that by putting you in a group that might not address that potential then you would be going to waste." Naruto 'hmm'd thoughtfully at the explanation. Sasuke was inwardly happy that that was their team's purpose, a combat cell. Hinata was a little mortified that she was put on a team that would be involved in combat more than the other teams but she believed that everything would be okay. Besides, she got what she wanted. She was on a team with Naruto, just like she hoped, and she had the chance to make something of herself in her clans' eyes.

"Having said that, after we finish eating, we will head back to the training area and find out just what it is you all seem to favor." Naruto nodded and continued eating, deciding that this fourth bowl would be enough till supper later that evening. They all made their way back to area 13 and were told to go ahead and relax or do whatever for a few more minutes, that he would be back after retrieving something from his home.

"So what do you guys think of all this?" Naruto asked Hinata and Sasuke. They both looked at him, Hinata looked she didn't know what to say and Sasuke just shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, I know he is skilled, you can tell that just by taking a look at him that he is skilled. But the whole thing about us being designated an attack team is kinda heavy. I want to become stronger and this seems like the best fit for all of us but look at who we are. Sasuke, you are the youngest son of the head of the Uchiha clan. Hinata is the eldest daughter of the head of the Hyuuga clan and is their designated heir. I'm...the son of the Hokage. We were all put on a team that will see more combat than the rest of the teams. Don't you think something is amiss about this?" Again, Hinata didn't say anything but you see that what Naruto said affected her. Her shoulders seemed tense, as did her hands, and her eyes were diverted to the ground. Sasuke decided to speak up though.

"Yeah, so what? Big deal. It just means that they have faith in us - or they are trying to kill us. Either way, it doesn't matter. If you aren't strong enough for this then you need to get out. Any second thoughts, need to get out. I won't let the fact that we will see a fair share of combat situations deter me from my goal. I will become stronger than my brother and gain my father's recognition." Naruto couldn't help but see Sasuke in a different light after that little display. Sasuke seemed truly passionate at that moment. Maybe there was hope for him after all. Or perhaps being humbled by their sensei an hour and a half ago helped deflate his ego.

Naruto looked over to see Hinata standing there, slightly less tense, but not relaxed like he wanted her to be. "Yeah, you're right, Sasuke. I was just thinking it curious is all. We were, in fact, placed on the team that they thought best suited us, from what Yamato-sensei told us. We'll become strong, hell, I'd wager we'll become the strongest in this village's history. What do you think Hinata?" She seemed to loosen up and when she looked up, there was new confidence in her.

"I think that maybe we can help each other achieve our goals. That is what a team is supposed to do after all." Naruto cheered inside. It might appear strange to someone else that Naruto would be happy when someone else succeeded but that was just him being him.

They then heard what sounded like something digging through the ground, turned around, and saw their sensei, arms crossed across his chest and looking at them with satisfaction. They seemed to fidget underneath his gaze, probably finding it awkward.

"Alright you three, I have something for you but before I give it to you, a few quick rules. One, don't do anything to it because if you damage it, I'll have to go back and get some more and these are really hard to come by. Two, listen to my instructions carefully after you receive yours." He then opened up one of his hands to reveal three sheets of small paper. Walking up to them, he handed Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata one paper. They all looked at it dumbly, waiting for further instructions. "Good, at least you can follow simple instructions. Alright, now when I tell you to, I want you to force a fair amount of chakra into these sheets and wait for a reaction. The paper is of a special material that analyzes any chakra that is infused into it and the consequential reaction that occurs tells you what element your chakra favors. Sasuke, let's start with you." Sasuke looked at his sheet of paper and started to mold chakra into it. A few seconds later, it glowed a light, pale orange and then disintegrated into black ash and was blown away by a small breeze. "I should have expected but your chakra favors the Fire element. I'll be sure to help you in that field when we train. Next, you Hinata." Hinata molded chakra into her paper sheet and waited. It suddenly glowed a faint blue and became damp. "Hmm, your's seems to favor the water element, which is expected coming from your fighting style." He cut himself off though as he noticed that the damp material started to crumple slightly at the edges and was doing it more and more. _'Could that be just from the dampening of the sheet or could her chakra level already have two affinities?' _He ignored it for now and decided to approach the matter later. "Naruto, now you." The boy molded the chakra and waited. Everyone looked at his paper sheet, saw it turn a light, hazy green, before it cut itself in half. "Wow, your chakra has an affinity towards the wind element. That is considered the most offensive of styles, Naruto."

"Now, the reason I did this is so I know how to approach you all when I train you. We will be working with taijutsu and I will help you in areas you are weak in, like genjutsu." he said, focusing his attention on Sasuke and Naruto, who just fidgeted under his gaze. "But as your papers have shown, you three have different affinities and therefore, do not share the ability to learn the same techniques. I will assist each of you individually in this approach and we'll see how everything ends up working out, okay?"

"Hai, Yamato-sensei." responded the three genin.

"Good, now, let's finish up with some stamina building drills and we'll call it a day huh?"

He had them working for the next five hours until they were on the brink of chakra exhaustion, which he preferred to avoid so he had them stop when he felt it necessary. Once the sun began to descend, he called for them to stop for the day. Quickly going back over their instructions for tomorrow, he sent them on their way back to their homes, where they would take hot showers or baths, trying their best to soothe and relax their tired and sore muscles. When they reached the point where they would split up, Naruto said good-bye to Hinata and Sasuke. Hinata responded to him, as he expected, and she extended a good night wish to Sasuke as well. Sasuke pondered for a second, then smiled very slightly again. Naruto thought that maybe his brain had played a trick on him when he heard Sasuke say good night to them.

"My god, did I just hear the great Uchiha Sasuke wish his teammates a good evening? Oh my god, Hinata, quick, my ears might start bleeding. Help me." he said in mock terror, eventually breaking down into gleeful laughter, grabbing his sides as he did so.

"Oh, Naruto-kun. That's not very nice now." she responded to him but found it hard not to join in with him. The boy's laughter was still as contagious as it was four years ago.

"Hey dobe, keep up the sarcasm and you just might need her help." said Sasuke, looking at Naruto, not in an agitated or aggravated expression, but also not in a very friendly way. At least it was more friendly than it had been. Naruto finally stopped his laughing and waved at his teammates as he went back to his home, excited about what tomorrow might hold.

Upon reaching his home, however, he found out from his mother that father hadn't returned yet and was probably still at the tower. _'What could he still be doing there at this time?'_ he thought to himself.

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The Yondaime was sipping his sake from a small saucer-like cup, his cheeks holding a slight red tint from a good buzz. Jiraiya was hiccuping and probably a good bit drunk. They were laughing about something but Arashi just couldn't recall what it was they were laughing about. He heard a knock on his door and told them to come on in but was instantly sobered by the face of the person that walked through.

"Arashi-sensei, I apologize but...Itachi didn't want to leave until he spoke to you about something." Upon hearing the young boy's name, Itachi walked into the room, taking a careful look at the Fourth and Jiraiya and the bottle of sake on the desk.

"Enjoying ourselves, are we, Hokage-sama?" asked the monotone voice of Itachi. Arashi chuckled but stopped quickly enough and gave a serious look at Jiraiya, who straightened up under his gaze.

"Jiraiya-sensei, go ahead back to the house and tell my wife and boy that I will be back in a few more minutes okay?" Jiraiya nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke. Now it was just the three remaining. "Okay Itachi, you can seal the door now." Itachi turned to the door, making sure it was close, and put his hand gently against the frame. His chakra began pouring into the door and the doorframe, effectively sealing the room off. No one could open the door or listen in. Turning around, he looked at one of the few ninjas that he actually feared facing in a one-on-one encounter and took a seat across from him.

Arashi, finally shaking off the hazy vision from drinking sake slowly throughout the afternoon, rested his chin on top of his hands which were propped up by his elbows on the desk. The gaze of Itachi, while always appearing to be intense, seemed to hold an abnormal amount of tension in them. "I'm supposing that Kakashi can be trusted to be in here with us?"

"Yes, Kakashi is more trustworthy than my sensei, Jiraiya. Trust me when I say so. Now, do you have some news for me?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. I have news that must come to your attention." Arashi paid careful attention to what might come next. "It's in regards to my father."

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So what do you think, huh? This chapter was sort of an experiment for me. I've never done a fight sequence before in any of my previous chapters so if you don't mind let me know if I did a good job. Might help in the long run because I'm gonna be doing more.

What could the information that Itachi has to tell the Hokage possibly be? What might Team Seven's missions be like? Could Sasuke be lightening up? Might Hinata be changing for the better? Could their chakra's elemental affinities really help them in their training to become stronger? Only one way to find out. Stay tuned for the next update.

Just to remind you, I'm on a little break so it might not be for another week that I update this story so don't worry if I don't update in two or three days. I'm not dead, I'm just relaxing, even though this story is as much fun to write as it is, or at least it appears to be, for you to read. Next chapter's preview.

Revelations from Itachi before he, Kakashi, Genma, and Hayate take off for Wave country. Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke have discussions with members of their family about family business. Team Seven gets it's first missions and Yamato asks them to make a decision.


	6. Chapter 6

I'M BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK! 

And I brought you new-chapter goodness. This chapter is a bit of the same feel of the last chapter but with different focuses. As the chapter suggests, secrets of families are revealed in this chapter and another noticeable difference between the actual timeline and my timeline is seen. You might like it, you might not, and it might raise some odd questions about a certain arrogant individual, but which one? You'll have to read to find out. So without further ado.

Chapter 6 - Secrets of the Families

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_BA-BUMP!_

Naruto fidgeted in his bed.

_BA-BUMP!_

'What the hell is making that noise.' he thought to himself.

_BA-BUMP!_

_'I thought I got rid of the alarm clock, what the hell is waking me up!'_ he screamed inwardly as he shot up in his bed, ready to smash his alarm clock, only to see it wasn't there. Then what was making the noise. He heard it again, like a pulse, coming from somewhere around him. It was in his room, he was sure of that, but exactly where he didn't know. Closing his eyes, he focused his chakra to his ears, something Jiraiya had taught him to do in order to pick up the slightest noises.

_BA-BUMP!_

He opened his eyes bitterly, realizing the noise was coming from his closet. He threw the sheets off the bed, leaving them looking disheveled. He scooted off the bed hurriedly and stormed his way to his closet. Gripping the handle, he slid the door open, and peered into the closet carefully, listening for the sound it made.

_BA-BUMP!_

He looked down and saw a long, thin box that seemed to be vibrating. Bending down and grabbing it angrily, he threw off the box's lid and looked at the contents, and instantly calmed. He was still angry at being awoken a bit early - the sun not even rising yet, but the way the wind blew told him it was close to six o'clock - but that attitude was replaced by one of intrigue. The content of this box was something he did not believe to have any use whatsoever.

On the day of his ninth birthday, he received many tools, scrolls, and parchments, but this one was given to him by his father. When he tried to read it, nothing happened. He questioned his father on its use but the only response he got was _'You'll know when the time comes.'_ He took the thick scroll out, surprised that a thing this big could fit into a box so small, and undid the rope that was used to tie it closed. He unrolled the scroll and smoothed it out, not sure why this thing was giving off such a unique chakra wave.

It suddenly pulsed with one more of those '_BA-BUMP_'s before something amazing happened. It glowed an amberish color and right before his eyes, words materialized.

_'Uzumaki Secret Scroll. To bind you to this scroll, give proof of your heritage.'_

Naruto sat down and pondered what that could mean. He then remembered seeing his father sign scrolls in his own blood before, a sign of an official documentation of him. Naruto bit his fore finger till it bled and signed his name on the scroll. Naruto waited for a moment before the bloody letters began to glow brightly and swirl towards the center of the scroll, making a red swirl - the Uzumaki's seal - and then fading, as if absorbed by the material.

A moment later from waiting for something to happen beared fruits to the blonde boy. Words formed on one corner of the scroll and gave a detailed description of what appeared to be a technique.

_'A jutsu? This thing contains jutsus? But it said 'Uzumaki Secret Scroll,' does that mean that these are my FATHER'S techniques?'_ He was left speechless. The thing he considered to be junk had actually ended up being his father's legacy. Jumping to his feet, he ran out of his room in a hurry. _'Hopefully I can catch him before he leaves for the office.'_ Running as quietly as he could as fast as he could, he turned through corners and down hallways until he made his way to the garden, where his father always drank his morning tea before going off to work. And he was there this morning too.

Carefully walking up to him, he took a seat right next to his father, who looked a little surprised to see his son awake so early.

"I thought you weren't a morning person? Why the change?" asked the man trying his best to tease his son. It was the fact that his son had a genuine smile on his face in response that made Arashi think over his son's nature carefully. _'He almost looks as if he is grateful for something. But what?'_

"Thank you…Otou-san." The formality, and yet familiarity, of the term threw Arashi for a loop.

"Okay, Naruto. What is this about?" His son just looked back up to him, beaming.

"I can read your scroll now. I'm capable of reading your scroll now."

Arashi turned to Naruto and examined him in scrutiny, but his eyes didn't hold any sharpness. _'So it responded to him after he was placed on his team and had his first full day of training. What exactly did Yamato do?'_ He was suddenly attacked by his son, the boy's arms wrapped around his neck in a tight hug.

"It means a lot for you to give me something like that. Thank you so very much with entrusting me with it."

"Naruto, you have, by being able to read, proven that you are worthy of the scroll. You see, that scroll was put together by not just me, but Jiraiya and Kakashi, as well. What was designed into the scroll was that when your charka grew to a level that was deemed adequate, the seal we placed into it would activate and call to you. Knowing you, we believed that you would just consider it useless but would keep it so as to not show disrespect. I'm right, aren't I?" Naruto was about to voice a response, but chose to hold his tongue - he knew his father knew. "The scroll is yours and yours alone. If I am correct, you have already signed it. By doing so, this scroll is only for your eyes. Anyone who tries to read it, won't. Anyone who tries to destroy it, will pay. But Naruto, I want you to keep this a secret. I believe that if word got out that I handed down a scroll filled with strong, powerful, or unique techniques, the consensus response could be ugly."

"But dad, the scroll only showed one technique. If it is filled with more than that one then when will I be able to read the rest?"

"Naruto. You'll know when. The scroll will know when. In the meantime, I have a job to do. I must be off and I'm guessing I'll be seeing you later today for your first mission." He gave his son a mischievous smile before standing up, ruffling the boy's hair, and leaping over the large wall towards the tower. _'He's going to be sore with me when he realizes what his "missions" are going to be'_ thought Arashi to himself.

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Hinata had woken up and stretched out her tight muscles. The workout from yesterday had been extremely hard, especially since she had to do some training with her father. He had been a bit more kind around her than usual and she could only guess that he was happy with her progress. Hinata was grasping some of the more difficult aspects of the 'gentle-fist' fighting style the Hyuugas were so proud of. Her sister was even impressed. She knew her family was of a more blood-thirsty clan, desiring always to be the strongest. She was not deaf to the words of the elders who paid frequent visits to Hiashi whenever some sort of news would come up. Last night was no exception.

Those men in their ceremonial robes constantly bickering about who was stronger and who should be named successor. Hinata wanted to cry when she heard one particular man say that Neji should be adopted into the main family and be made the heir. It would make her happy that her cousin would no longer be apart of that side of his family and be a slave but she wanted that position. Neji was too much like those cruel old men who wanted an heir of great strength and strong character. Not to say that Hinata doubted her abilities but when pitted against Neji, she believed she was outclassed. The issue with character, however, was that while she wanted to be the heir, her attitude wasn't what the elders had come to expect out of the Hyuuga bloodline. The heir was the prototypical genius of the bloodline that could learn all the techniques flawlessly and be a strong leader. She did not meet those requirements, in the eyes of her family. Neji was what they were expecting, and were pushing her father to make such a decision as to adopt Neji into the main family so that he could be named the heir. But Neji would run the clan with an iron fist and any changes he made would be seen as tactless and heartless.

Hinata's view on the workings of her family and its politics was that she wanted to tear down the barrier separating the Main and Branch families. A family was just that, in her eyes. A family. She wanted her family to be unified and to bring peace to the sides and hopefully make amends for the years of damage done by the previous heads' actions.

Sipping on her tea in the kitchen area, she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, her eyes became locked with the very person she had been thinking about. Neji's calculative stare and unreadable face usually unnerved her but something was different about this time. He held a more curious air around him than anything else, which was piquing her curiosity.

"Hinata-sama, I understand that you were placed into an attack team, correct?" She nodded in response. "Fitting, that they put every family's cherished child into a team that will likely see many dangerous scenarios. Tell me Hinata, do you truly understand the position you are in?" That struck a chord in her.

"I'm not a child anymore, Neji-nii-san. I have grown up. You could be surprised if you'd open your eyes more." Neji noticed the trace amounts of sarcasm that laced her words and he was taken back a bit.

"I just hope the blonde idiot doesn't hold you back. I'd hate for the Main Family's prodigy to be held back by the black sheep of the Uzumaki clan." he stated with utter spite in his voice. His distaste for her did not go unnoticed and she saddened inside. She always hoped that somewhere along the way, Neji might warm up to her, but he seemed to take the whole family-house-separation-thing seriously. But after the words replayed through her mind, she felt the sudden urge to defend Naruto and his honor.

"Neji-nii-san, I wish you would not judge so quickly and easily. Naruto-kun has become much stronger since you and him fought. He even learned a Jounin level technique. Naruto-kun has changed."

"You seem pretty confident in that. But nobody changes so easily Hinata, not even you. You, who-" but he was cut off by the man who stood behind him. Neji flinched when he felt the hand on his shoulder and he didn't even need to look up to know who it was.

"Neji, perhaps you should not speak in such a manner to your cousin." The voice of the man, while gentle and warm, was not of a tone that asked for clarity on his words. It was clearly a warning/demand to not speak to Hinata as if he was superior to her. Hinata always knew that when her uncle was around, Neji was the most well-behaved person to be around. But when he wasn't, Neji completely changed. "I apologize if he offended you, Lady Hinata."

"It's okay, Uncle Hizashi-san. And there is no need for such formality around me, I've told you so many times." Hizashi laughed warmly, which caused Hinata to join in. Neji, however, stood there unflinching and determined. He probably had made up his mind that he wouldn't apologize.

"If you do not mind, Otou-san, I was just about to excuse myself from the manor. I must meet with my team for training. Good day to you, and to you, Lady Hinata." He then turned around and walked with an attitude that made her wish he could be humbled. It did Naruto a world of good, she had to admit, and that was the one thing she was thankful about when it came to his and Neji's altercation. He was humbled and rededicated himself. Speaking of Naruto and teams, she needed to hurry to the Hokage's tower. Looking at her uncle she smiled warmly to him and said her farewell for the day and ran to meet her team at their designated meeting zone.

Hizashi, after seeing her leave, began to ponder his earlier thinking of the girl. He watched as she grew older and saw when she seemed to not show any signs of being what the clan would call 'respectable.' But now, her technique was becoming polished and he was seeing hints of a new wave of the 'gentle-fist' in the making with the girl. Her nature did not call for the precise and deadly movements associated with the Jyuuken but, if she were trained in the right way - and her father did not disagree - she might be able to effectively progress the 'Gentle-Fist' towards a whole new wave and make her own style. Maybe he should bring that up with his brother, he thought to himself.

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"Naruto-kun" shouted Hinata as she got closer to him. He was making his way down the street towards the tower and she was hoping they'd be able to walk together to the building. The past few weeks were so hectic that they hadn't had any time to hang out outside of school. He smiled and waved to her as she landed next to him.

"Ohayo, Hinata-chan." he said, greeting her. She looked the same as she had for the past couple of years, the same jacket, the same pants, the same hairstyle, the same shoes. But even though she would appear so normal and plain to most people, he knew otherwise. She had told him that it was because she just didn't 'fancy' any of the attire other girls wore. In a sense, what she wore was what made her unique.

"How are you this morning, Naruto-kun." She inwardly cheered that she had yet to stutter over her words and turn into her usual nervous self. Perhaps after finally overcoming the shock that her good fortune had kept her and Naruto together as team mates, she might be able to be more comfortable around him and the rest of the team.

"Just fine, though something cool did happen this morning." He then slapped his mouth with his hands. _'Crap, Father told me to keep it a secret and I already blew it. Hinata won't let this go until she finds out, as well.'_ Naruto figured that since he probably trusted her more than their sensei or ero-sennin that it might be okay. He hoped, at least.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun? Is it a secret or something? You don't have to tell me if it is, I'll understand." But that was the problem. Hinata had a tendency to play the 'My-supposed-best-friend-can't-tell-me-a-secret' card and make him feel guilty. Damn these predictable outcomes.

"If you promise to keep it between just you and me, I'll tell you, alright?" She nodded to confirm and so he continued. "This morning, the scroll that my father gave me four years ago started making a weird noise and when I opened it, words appeared. The scroll asked me to prove my heritage, or something like that, so I signed my name in blood. After the scroll did something with my signature, new words were formed, giving a detailed description of a new technique. My father says that only I can read it and that it is filled with cool stuff like that but the only way for me to read the rest is wait for the scroll to make that weird noise again." When he finished, he looked at her anxiously and nervously, afraid that she might get jealous or something. She instead smiled warmly at him.

"That's great, Naruto-kun. What's the technique on the scroll." He pondered for a moment then gained a look like something clicked in his head.

"It's a wind jutsu, a minor one from the description it gave, but it's usefulness is vast, just like that water gathering jutsu I learned from Jiraiya-sannin. I'm not sure what it does yet, I didn't read that part yet." He suddenly realized that they had made their way to the tower and he hadn't even noticed. Furthermore, Sasuke was there looking at them like they had interrupted his most precious of thought processes.

"Ohayo, Sasuke-kun." Hinata greeted him. His response was a simple 'hn' in acknowledgement. They didn't have to wait but a few more seconds for Yamato to appear in a cloud of smoke.

"Well, well, well. You all beat my projections. Guess you are really looking forward to your mission today, huh?" Naruto nodded eagerly, which only made Yamato want to laugh harder inside, because he could just picture Naruto's face when he realized what the D-rank missions would entail. "Good, then let's make our way up, shall we?" They all turned to the doors of the tower and slowly made their way up the stairs. Once inside the room, the Yondaime looked up from his paperwork and smiled at the team.

"Ah, Team Seven, I've been expecting you all. Yamato tells me that you all are ready for a mission. Good, here is your assignment." He tossed a vanilla folder to Yamato, who opened it, grinned, and then passed the lone sheet inside the folder to Sasuke, who passed it to Hinata, who passed it to Naruto, who dropped his jaw.

"Are you kidding me? We have to do this! Our mission is to 'Mend-a-fence.' You're serious about this?" Yamato gave him a look that even made Sasuke shiver. (A/N: Those who want a mental picture of the look Yamato is giving, go look at the manga issue where Yamato does the 'Scary Mode On' look.)

"Naruto, you will be respectful of the wishes of your Hokage. Relative or not, he is to hand down the same missions to everybody else." Naruto shuddered and cowered behind Hinata, his teeth chattering and his body shaking from fear. '_That's the scariest thing I've ever seen in my entire freaking life.' _He could hear Hinata lightly giggle.

"Besides, dobe, all D-rank missions are like this. Did you already forget he told us about this yesterday?" added in Sasuke.

"Well, no, but I didn't think he meant 'these' kind of local tasks. I thought we'd have to find spies in our village and stuff like that. I don't know, I guess I just was expecting something more." Hinata giggled at the red tint on Naruto's face. He was so embarrassed and it was so adorable.

"Naruto, those kinds of missions would be classified middle B-rank to high C-rank." said Yamato again.

"Then when can we do C-rank missions?" asked Naruto, bouncing on his heels. Sasuke rolled his eyes at him while Yondaime closed his eyes and thought about it for a moment.

"Hmmm...after 14 successfully completed D-rank missions." Naruto's jaw hit the ground again. _'I'm gonna have to do 13 more of these stupid chores before I can do something interesting?' _ His shoulders slumped and he began sulking. Arashi had to contain himself from laughing his ass off. The reaction was more priceless than he had first thought. He composed himself, though, and prepared himself to address the team before him.

"After completing this mission, report back here for your share of the profits and then continue with your plans for the day. Now off you go." They all bowed to him, even Naruto, and then left out the door.

The last person to leave was Sasuke and Arashi gave him a careful look as he walked out and closed the door behind him. The words from Itachi still lingered in his head. Arashi could only hope that Itachi would be able to help Sasuke.

(Flashback)

_"Okay, go on, Itachi." The young man was especially serious this evening than previous times, which could only mean news of grave importance._

_"Hai, Hokage-sama. My father appears to have taken a rather serious disliking to your decision to have Sasuke in the same team as both Hyuuga Hinata and your son. He is going to try and use this decision you have made and somehow twist it around to make it seem as though you have used your power to put the three of them together in hopes of bringing the three houses closer. He already has had a visit from Danzou from R.O.O.T." Kakashi's visible eye raised upon hearing Danzou's name. This would not be good, he knew that._

_"Okay, Itachi-san. Thank you for the information. Is that all?"_

_"No sir, I have more." Arashi was a bit taken back by the tone in Itachi's voice. It seemed to be hinting towards despair. "I have written down a document that fell upon my sight this evening. The document told of a transfer of funds from our clans' account to an anonymous account in Tea Country." Arashi visibly became angry. Even Itachi's determined facial expression faltered when he felt the spike of killer intent rise in the Hokage._

_"Itachi, after this mission is done, you will perform a background check into your clans' funds and any transactions from the account and report anything that stands out to me, understood? And we must do our best to not let Sasuke be drawn in by your father's ideals and philosophies. You are dismissed, now head to Wave and stop Gatou and the rogue nins if they don't surrender." With a nod, Itachi stood up, bowed to Arashi, touched the doorframe - effectively unsealing it - and left with Kakashi._

(End Flashback)

_'Politics this, positions that, problems here, problems there. This job requires too much from an individual and if that fool of an Uchiha thinks he will overthrow me from the seat of Hokage, he will be sorely mistaken.'_ With that he went back to work on his papers, getting together all the paperwork for the other teams. Team Eight should be arriving soon.

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"Well that was very interesting." said Naruto, kicking at a rock on the ground. He was still upset that his first mission was to mend an old man's fence. Granted, the old guy couldn't do it himself, but wasn't that what construction crews were for? _'Oh well, we still got paid for it so I guess it doesn't matter.'_ "Yamato-sensei, what are we going to do next?"

"Well, Naruto, that is up to you. Do you all want to train or would you all like to do another mission and get closer to doing a C-rank mission?" The answer was obvious, at least to Sasuke.

"Training, Yamato-sensei. That is my vote." Naruto pondered and agreed.

"Yeah, I'm with the teme on this one. What about you, Hinata-chan?" He expected her to just nod her head or to say '_If you all want to then I will as well.'_ What actually happened threw him off. This was a different Hinata from the past few days.

"I would like to train as well, sensei." Yamato closed his eyes, nodding in understanding.

"Very well then. Let us move to our training grounds and then we can continue where we left off yesterday."

After a few minutes of dashing at full speed, they arrived at Area Thirteen and awaited Yamato's orders. "Alright. I'm gonna work with each of you individually on an area of weakness that you MUST bring to my attention, so go ahead and think about a weakness that I can help you with." They all thought for a while and then they looked at him, almost at the exact same time, with a look of knowing. "Good, then let's start with Naruto and then I'll decide after that. Sasuke and Hinata, you two spar for a bit while I work with Naruto." Sasuke turned to look at Hinata, who did the same thing, and they walked a little bit away from Yamato and Naruto and got into taijutsu stances. "Okay now Naruto, what is a weakness you have."

"My kage bunshins, they seem to suck up so much of my chakra and I don't know what I should do about it. I mean, it is my best technique but if it cripples me then how good can it be to use?"

"And that is where the solution comes in. It won't be of any use if it hurts you more than helps you. What you need to do is increase your chakra reserves more than you already have. I can tell you have a large amount of chakra but if you plan to use the Kage Bunshin as your technique of choice then you have to develop an even larger storage of chakra. Okay? Well let's start. First way to increase your reserves is to do what?"

"One way is to practice exercises that require extreme amounts of chakra control, right?"

"Very good. Now, another way, and a much more effective way, is to expend almost all of your chakra before you go to sleep. Then, after a full night's rest and a healthy breakfast, your reserves will be replenished and slightly larger. Continue this cycle, and your stores will increase. Yet another method I can tell you is to try and perform some of those chakra control exercises with the Kage Bunshins. If you and, say, three Kage Bunshins perform meditation while staying afloat on top of water, their control increases, and when they are dispelled, you gain those benefits." Naruto's eyes beamed and his jaw hung open in awe.

"You're saying that whatever my bunshins do, I get the credit for in the long run?"

"Yes, that even goes with learning something like a jutsu. Try it in your free time. In the meantime, let's work on techniques." Yamato slid into a taijutsu stance and Naruto followed suit. "Now, for this exercise, I want you to use any jutsus you know."

"Alright then, sensei, here I come." And after finishing that statement, he dashed at Yamato as fast as he could. Punches and kicks were thrown at Yamato, but he was dodging and blocking them all too easily, no longer being lackadaisical like he was the day before. Naruto then understood why Yamato had said he wanted him to use jutsus. It was because Yamato was no longer going to take it easy on him with the taijutsu. Naruto jumped back, made three seals and drove his palm into the ground. "Doton: Quicksand."

Yamato was shocked that Naruto was able to not only use an earth technique but very well, nonetheless. He was stuck sinking into the ground and when Naruto stopped feeding chakra into the sandtrap, the soil quickly solidified. "Very well done, Naruto. Just remember, don't use a technique like this against an opponent who is well-versed in the Earth element." Yamato then started sinking even further into the ground until he couldn't be seen. Naruto started looking around, waiting for him to pop up anywhere, until it was too late. Vines had started to grow underneath him and had him captured.

Sasuke and Hinata, who had been going at it for a while now, had stopped and watched Yamato and Naruto in action against each other. Sasuke was slightly impressed that Naruto had seemingly gotten the jump on Yamato, until the vines captured him. _'That dobe, he should've known not to use an earth technique against Yamato-sensei. Oh well, that's what he gets for not thinking.'_

Yamato now reassimilated from the ground and looked at Naruto all bundled up in the vines. "Just submit for now and we can move on, okay?" Yamato liked to taunt people who were easily aggravated. Using a weakness that played upon the egos of the opponent usually had a positive result. Naruto, however, instead of screaming and resisting, closed his eyes, calmed his breathing, and managed to bring his hands together. Two handseals.

"Katon: Heat Gatherer." Yamato and Sasuke's eyes bulged at that.

"The dobe can use a Katon jutsu?" he said out loud, not realizing he did so.

"You'd be surprised what Naruto is capable of doing, Sasuke-kun. He's better than you give him credit for." Sasuke looked at Hinata, who seemed to have a look of the utmost confidence in the blonde boy, who was ending up becoming more of an enigma than an open book like he originally thought the goof was.

The air around the blonde boy started to became hazy with the increasing heat that was gathering around him and they could all feel the chakra that was being pumped into it. Slowly but surely, the vines began to sizzle and smoke and Naruto jerked his arms and broke the bindings that had become loosened. He was sweating from the heat but it had apparently worked. Now he made two more handseals. "Futon: Siphon." Sasuke almost gagged when he heard 'Futon' spoken from his voice. _'And now a futon jutsu. I have to get better or he is going to quickly surpass me.'_

The air around him started to twist violently and was being drawn towards him. The pressure it created around Naruto was too much and was sucking away all his air. _'I can't breath.'_

"Naruto, dispell the jutsu!" shouted Yamato. Naruto jerked his hands apart and felt out the chakra of the jutsu around him and forced the feed from his chakra to stop. The wind finally stopped and Naruto gasped for air, falling to his knees and gagging. Yamato bent down to make sure he was alright. "You fool, you didn't know how to use that technique, did you?" Naruto shook his head to confirm he didn't, not able to find his voice yet. "Never, ever, use a technique you are unsure of in the heat of battle. If you use it improperly, you could die, just like you almost did, Naruto." He paled when Yamato told him he might have died and mentally got to work kicking himself in the ass for the stupid mistake he made. "It's okay. Don't beat yourself up over it. It's done. Now tell me. What do you think went wrong there?"

"I just used the technique the same way I used the 'Heat Gatherer' " he said to him.

"And what happens when you use the Heat Gatherer?"

"Well, I force my chakra into the air around me to heat it. The more I pump, the hotter it gets. So I figured if I pumped out chakra using that technique, the Siphon, then I would be able to generate winds around me. But that's not how it works, is it Sensei?" Yamato smiled at him and shook his head. "Yeah I figured, so could you help me to understand it?" he asked him sheepishly.

"I guess I could do that much. Ironic, you learn yesterday that you are of the wind element and here you are struggling with a wind jutsu. Anyways, you do not use this technique in the same manner you would the Heat Gatherer, simply because you do not need to produce wind around you. The word of the technique you tried to use, Siphon, does exactly what it says. It siphons the air around you. What you have to do is when you perform this technique, you have to take your chakra and create a pulling effect. The air around you will then circulate around your body. The technique in general is of a bit more difficulty than the others you have used, but it opens up a new door of possible tactical maneuvers and abilities. The Siphon technique is the beginning step to many 'Futon' jutsus. When you have mastered this technique on your own free time, I will then help you further the benefits it will provide you with, okay?" Naruto smiled, happy that his sensei wasn't afraid of assisting him in his growth and was afraid to help instruct him how to use techniques properly. Naruto's previous sensei, Jiraiya, was more of a man who would show you something and then expect you to figure it out on your own. Yamato seemed to be the perfect example of an instructor.

"Hai, Yamato-sensei."

"Alright then. Sasuke, you're up. Naruto, you can go over there and work on your technique or you can spar with Hinata or you can work on building your chakra reserves, which I highly suggest you do if you plan on using the techniques you have shown me today." Sasuke stepped up and told him that the weakness he thought that Yamato could help him with was his genjutsu awareness. They proceeded to talk with each other about the issues presented in certain scenarios with different genjutsus and the ability to see through them and break them effectively. Naruto walked over to Hinata but instead of sliding into a taijutsu stance, he just sat down close to her. She took a seat close to him as well and sort of waited for something to happen. When it didn't, she surprised him again by initiating a conversation.

"Naruto-kun, are you okay?" she asked, still a little worried, the image of him on his hands and knees, gasping for air, still fresh in her mind.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I was just surprised with what happened and all." He laughed afterwards to try and ease her suspicion that he might not be okay and decided to move on to something else. "So, what's the weakness that you are going to tell sensei?" She seemed to think about it a bit before she finally told him.

"Um...a weakness that 'sensei' could help out with is my chakra control, I guess. But there are others that I would need father to assist with." Naruto understood. She always told him about how her byakugan wasn't considered 'up-to-par' and that her father had begun helping her bring out more of her family's bloodline abilities but wasn't being all too successful. At least, he thought it wasn't because she hadn't said anything to disprove that theory. But that first part of her statement raised his curiosity.

"Hold on, Hinata-chan, I wanna go ask Yamato something." She said okay and he got a little closer to the two. "Excuse me, sensei. I was wondering if I could ask your permission for something."

"You don't need my permission to do that Naruto, you're not a kid in school anymore." Naruto almost gagged as he couldn't believe Yamato had just suggested that. Yamato laughed again at Naruto's reaction.

"NO, NOT THAT! Baka sensei. I was wondering, Hinata said that her weakness that she is probably gonna tell you about is chakra control. You mind if I take her to the stream close by and assist her with that so you two can have some more time to work on whatever it is you are working on?" He added that last little bit to sweeten the deal. Giving Yamato more time to work on genjutsu with Sasuke would benefit the team in the long run. Naruto knew he had no shot at 'recognizing' a genjutsu, so he would probably rely on his teammates to save his ass in that situation.

Yamato considered it for a moment and agreed. "I'll be by in about twenty or so minutes to check in and take over alright? But you two can go ahead and work in that area if you feel you can help her." Naruto turned to Hinata and waved at her to follow him. She got off the ground and jogged after him. When they came to the stream, Naruto couldn't help but reminisce. The very same stream, where they met.

"Naruto-kun, did you bring me here on purpose?" she asked him with a sly look on her face. He returned her look with a wink to tease her and she laughed at him. "You nerd. So, show me what I need to do to help with chakra control."

"Well, first we need to test how good you are with walking on water." She instantly stepped out and started twirling around on the tips of her feet like a ballet dancer. "Okay" he managed to cough out, "now let's see how well you move on the water. Apply a layer of chakra to your feet so that your feet are no longer touching the water." She then lifted up slightly on top of the water and Naruto could the see the ripples in the water underneath her feet from the waves of chakra being applied to them. "Good, you're doing great Hinata-chan. Now, maintain that and skate across the water for a while." She did so while he formed a couple of bunshins and told them to go meditate on the water with him. After a few minutes of this, Naruto was tagged on the back of the head playfully and looked up, seeing Hinata skate off and away from him. _'Damn she's a fast learner.'_

"Come on, Naruto-kun. That's boring, what you are doing. Chase me, it will be better exercise. Besides, you need the exercise with all the barbeque you put down the other day." Naruto put on a look of mock shock at her teasingly harsh words. She started laughing and went racing down the stream as fast as she could. Naruto dismissed the bunshins and went chasing after her. Her playful laughter was enough to make him quickly realize that she was just wanting to have fun than to have a race. Hinata was in so many ways what he would expect a sister to be and that's what he always thought of her as, but now he has become more adept at thinking of her as a friend, but his best friend. Even he doesn't know the reason for that change. A couple minutes later, Naruto was starting to get close enough to catch her when a small pebble came out of nowhere and smacked Naruto upside the head hard enough to knock away his concentration so that he fell into the water. Getting back up to the surface and to the shore, he looked for the source and saw Yamato and Sasuke staring at them. Yamato was laughing at him while Sasuke was holding a few more pebbles and tossing them around casually in his hand.

"Grr...damnit Sasuke, you could've gotten my attention in a better way than that."

"I know, but this was more fun." Naruto choked on that last part. Sasuke just said that it was more 'fun.' Change is change. Maybe for the better or the worse, if that is what his idea of fun was - throwing pebbles at your teammates.

"Still pretty damn dirty. So I'm guessing twenty minutes is up huh?" Naruto asked his sensei with a stupid grin on his face.

"Mmhmm. Although I am surprised you and her are capable of such a technique. That is very impressive. I'm gonna have you teach Sasuke that, Naruto, while I spend more time with Hinata." Naruto got out of the water and did the 'Heat Gatherer,' drying himself off and begrudgingly walked over to Sasuke. Yamato grabbed a rock that you could hold in your hand and tossed it to Hinata, who caught it and looked at it questioningly. "Lay the rock flat on your palm and pump chakra into your hand. You want to pump enough chakra into your hand to make the rock float into the air. Begin."

Naruto, meanwhile, was doing his best to show Sasuke how to walk on water. "No, that's not enough chakra. You have to realize that with water, almost everything is considered too heavy to stay on the surface. You have to apply enough chakra into your feet and push it against the water's surface and you must do this constantly. Now try again." Sasuke had already fallen in once and he was beginning to be skeptical of Naruto's teaching abilities. _'I will do this. Naruto will not be better than me at something. I won't allow that to happen.'_ He stepped back out onto the water and started to float but lost his concentration and fell in again. Naruto had to refrain from laughing at Sasuke but couldn't help himself when Sasuke climbed back onto the surface, his hair sticking to his face damply. Sasuke glared at him but that only made him laugh harder.

"Alright, alright. Hey, your sharingan can see how chakra is applied right?" Sasuke, a little confused by the question, nodded. "Alright, then I want you to activate your sharingan and memorize how I apply my chakra when I walk onto the water, okay?" Sasuke nodded again, now understanding. _'Damn, why didn't I think of that? Maybe the dope isn't all that dumb.'_ He activated his sharingan and motioned to Naruto that he was ready. "Alright, now watch my feet." he told him as he stepped out into the water. Sasuke smirked as he realized what he was doing wrong but cursed inwardly that Naruto had been right. He hadn't been using enough chakra. "The real trick is maintaining it." Sasuke stepped to the water and applied chakra. Stepping out further, he applied the chakra to the next foot while doing everything in his power to maintain the same amount in the other foot. He took careful step after careful step out further into the water and grinned at his accomplishment.

"Very good, Sasuke. Excellent, Naruto. You might be a better teacher than I am." Yamato said jokingly. He turned back to Hinata who had managed to the get the rock to lift off of her hand, but struggled to keep it afloat in the air. She seemed to be getting frustrated when he chose to stop her. Impatience usually led to mistakes which led to more mistakes. "Good job, Hinata. This isn't an easy enough task to grasp. It might take some time before you master it but I'm confident you can." He then looked at the sky and realized that they probably had about an hour or so left of daylight. "Okay guys, I'm gonna let you all practice what you want to practice by yourselves while I supervise. If I think I can help you out then I will."

After another hour of training involving tested ninjutsus, polishing taijutsu, and water-walking exercises, Team Seven was dismissed and was just as sore as they were the day before. With the knowledge that they were to meet their sensei at 8 AM at the tower again tomorrow, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke walked together back to the main area of town. Naruto's stomach made an unpleasant sound which was met with a slight chuckle from Sasuke, who seemed to be more apt to warming up to Naruto and Hinata than he had the day before, and a look on Hinata's face that was a mix of sympathy and amusement.

"I feel like gettin some ramen. How bout you Hinata-chan? Wanna join me? My treat?" She blushed lightly at his invitation but managed to choke out a 'yes.' Naruto grinned and turned to Sasuke. "Hey, how bout you? Wanna join us for some ramen?" he offered to him

"Nah, I'm not much of a ramen fan. Maybe later though." He started to walk away but stopped before he got too far away. "See ya tomorrow. Good night." and he turned back around and walked back to his home. Naruto stared at the retreating form of Sasuke and made one declaration to himself. He wouldn't judge anybody so quickly the way he had judged Sasuke. Sasuke just seemed to be as stuck-up and arrogant as Neji was, but here was Sasuke being more friendly and outgoing in these past two days than he had been the entire time they were in the academy. He turned back to Hinata, who was waiting somewhat patiently and they headed to Ichiraku's Ramen stand for supper.

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Four men stood on an incomplete bridge facing around a hundred plus angry samurai, awaiting the inevitable encounter. Two badly injured ninja were behind a man with spiky silver hair. The said man's right hand was red from the blood of the young boy who had blocked his attack on the tall, slender man with the meat cleaver for a weapon. Kakashi was now exhausted from the battle with Zabuza and the boy, the two of them being a lot more powerful than they had all thought. But it seemed that Itachi was holding back the entire fight, saving his strength for something more important than the rogue nin and his accomplice and now he could see why. While being outclassed as far as experience goes, the sheer numbers of the men before them were enough to make them troublesome, but Itachi had stepped forward unflinchingly. Kakashi was not an idiot, he knew Itachi was powerful, but this was overconfidence if you had to ask him.

"Itachi, maybe we should attack them as a group."

"Kakashi, do not insult me with fear for my well being. I will be fine against these peons." All the men seemed to growl at him angrily and one stepped forward.

"Hey, pretty boy, if you feel froggy, why not jump while the water is still warm. I'd love to add your blood to my blade's collection."

Itachi just laughed at them all which sent shivers down Kakashi's, Genma's, and Hayate's spines. "You are all ignorant of how outclassed you are. Konoha has sent in their elite's to finish the job because that is what we, who are here on this bridge right now, are good at. I'm no different. My job is to take care of slime like you and put you in your place." He then untied the collar of his cape and slung it over his shoulder, where Genma caught it while smirking. _'They actually managed to provoked Itachi. They just don't know what they have done.'_

Itachi was wearing a fishnet top over a dark blue muscle shirt, which showed that he wasn't some skinny, scrawny little kid. He was well-toned and the attire was meant to give him better freedom for close-range combat, something he wasn't all that well known for, but was more than willing to participate in when the time called for it. The time seemed to have called for it. "You will all help take some of my frustrations away." He reached behind his back and pulled off of a strap on his back a big ring, with one blade that looked like the wheels in the sharingan eye. After flicking the device, two more blades seemed to materialize from where there was only one previously and now he was holding a three-bladed Fuuma Shurikan. He started putting chakra into the device and threw it at the men. They all laughed at him for throwing such a meager weapon, but then again, they didn't know that much about ninjutsu.

"Sonic Shurikan no Jutsu." The words echoed across the bridge and the shurikan's speed increased 100 fold, cutting a path right down the middle and taking out more than thirty of the men. The resulting sonic boom knocked fifty or so over the sides of the bridge and many more off their feet. Itachi reached into his kunai holsters on his thighs and pulled out two rather large kunai and held one in each hand. Running towards the group with speed that not even Kakashi could keep up with unless he had the sharingan eye's help, Itach began blocking blade swings and wild punches and started to methodically and carefully pick his punches. Everytime it looked like he would be cut while his guard was down, he would just turn around and finish that person off. Not a single one landed a blow on the boy.

In a surprisingly quick amount of time, the hundreds of men who seemed so confident that they would win were dwindled down to a minüte few, who decided to turn tail and run, understanding finally just who they were dealing with. Itachi wiped off the sweat on his forehead and raised his hand into the air, sending a pulse of chakra out of it and a few moments later, the fuuma shurikan returned to him. Walking back to Kakashi and the others, they all looked at him in awe.

"Gatou wasn't with them, we need to find him. Let's move on." said Itachi, looking at Kakashi.

"Yeah, I guess but I think we should rest for a bit. These two are no longer threats-" he stated by pointing to the debilitated bodies of Zabuza and Haku,"-and besides, I think we did pretty good on the first day, taking them out and all those samurai. Not a bad day's work. Let's get some well-deserved sleep and start fresh first thing in the morning. At that time, I'll need you, Hayate, to send out a message for a recovery team to come and take back these two, as well as any injured Konoha nins." Itachi, Genma, and Hayate agreed with the decision and they made their way to Tazuna, the bridge-builder's house, since he graciously offered boarding for Konoha nin who needed a place to stay.

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Hey, what can I say? I thought you guys would like a little bit of an update as to how things would go in Wave since Naruto wouldn't be over there doing the job himself. So there you go. This chapter, once again, was just a chapter to set up more things for later. From this point on, things get interesting and fun, at least for me. I hope things will be interesting to you all as well. If there are any questions you have or you would like to make a suggestion for later on in the story, don't be afraid to message me; otherwise, I won't know if I have seemingly left you all in the dark about something. I believe I'm tying up a lot of the loose ends in this chapter.

As for people questioning the whole Naruto-chakra-stamina thing, remember I said that in the last chapter he had the Shikamaru disease. Also, he doesn't have nearly as much chakra as he did in the original timeline because of the very reason he was hated. It is my belief that the demon that was sealed inside of him was the reason his reserves were so massive. His chakra was in overtime, constantly in work to keep the Kyuubi's presence subdued. Also, he was a prankster and constantly got chased by people, which helped to increase stamina. He didn't have that hardship in my story and therefore, does not have the benefits of it. The hardship of bearing the demon is what made him so strong and such a chakra freak. Without that fox inside him, my Naruto needs a lot more time to develop that chakra storage. Give me a bit more time to work with him people, he won't suck, I promise. :)

Also, how do you all like the slowly emerging personality of Hinata? Giving her a personality outside of her shy, timid nature was difficult but I think this one is probably the best one I can think of. A Hinata that is comfortable enough around Naruto since they have been friends for a while and her playful nature with her best friend, and her slight attitude towards Neji when they exchange words. I'm trying my best to keep her Hinata while giving her more confidence. Naruto does seem to rub off on a lot of people, why not her? Just don't ask me to give her different clothing. I just can't, for the life of me, picture her in skimpy shorts and form fitting tops that show off her assets. She's still 12 years old in my story, first off, and secondly, she's Hinata. The tan jacket and baggy dark pants just fit. So please don't ask that out of me.

A preview for the next chapter: Huzzah for time skips, although the next chapter won't be much of a skip. A week or two's worth of time is skipped as Team Seven receives their first C-rank mission and it is an awkward one. The next chapter should be out soon too but then again, I've got a lot on my plate right now. Here's hoping.

Good bye for now.


	7. Chapter 7

Hello. Guess who isn't dead! I'm back with a whole new chapter and this one was a doozy. I felt that I had gotten away from what I was good at. Everyone seemed to love my first few chapters with all the character interaction and I felt that with the past couple of chapters I went away from that a bit. So now, this chapter is my way of making amends, so to speak, for both being tardy with an update and not giving any love to other characters.

This chapter is also the beginning of the times where I will start using my own additions. I hope that that doesn't upset any of you but in my attempt to do something original outside of the bridge-builder mission, this was the only thing I could think of. Hopefully you will enjoy it. I also want to tell you that I will add in a few people or so that are my own creation, but they will not dominate my story like a majority of authors' OCs tend to. Hope you enjoy them.

To questions about why I didn't have "Yamato" keep his name of "Tenzou," to be perfectly honest with you all - my dear readers - I goofed. I had just gotten finished with reading the most recent chapter of Naruto and realized that Kakashi does indeed call him Tenzou. Oh well, I made a minor mistake but one that can be perfectly explained. Besides the fact that I goofed, now that I know his real name is Tenzou, I am not going to change it back because of the very reason he referred to himself as Yamato to Team Seven in the manga. Tenzou is his 'ANBU' name, while Yamato is his 'Tenchou' name (which translates to leader).

And finally, I wanna do something that I don't feel I do enough. I want to thank each and every single one of you who have read my story and have reviewed it. Your time is well appreciated, as are your comments and thank you so very much for helping my story reach the 10,000 + hit mark while I was absent. Thank you. And now, onto a chapter that I hope you all will like, cuz I was a little worried about it.

Chapter Seven - The Two-Team 'C' rank mission

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Naruto's internal clock went off right then and there, effectively waking him up. He had to admit that it was a lot better than the annoying ass clocks he's had. He knew instinctively that it was 6:30 AM and that he had get out of bed. The routine he had gotten into nowadays went with waking up, stretching, meditation, shower, breakfast, meeting up with the team, getting a boring mission, completing it, getting another one, completing it, and then training till the day's end. But today was gonna be special. _'14 successfully completed D-rank missions.'_ he cheered inside. He would now get a C-rank mission.

The D-ranked missions were soooooooo boring. He couldn't remember exactly how many times he had to recapture that damn cat. _'I swear, had it not been for Hinata, I would've punted that thing clear across the country.'_ Hinata was the only one it liked. The one time he had captured it, it went haywire and scratched the living hell out of him. On the third time around trying to recapture it, Naruto had so wanted to use it as target practice but Hinata did not like that thought, saying that she was disappointed at the thought.

Speaking of Hinata and the team, Naruto was seriously happy with how they all were doing. Hinata and Sasuke had succeeded in climbing trees a few days ago, which was supposed to be easier than walking on water, but Naruto had to disagree. Whoever said that walking on water was the harder of the things to do was as much an idiot as the woman who owned that damn cat. Tree-climbing required a lot more out of an individual than water-walking did, mainly on the mental aspect. When you attempt to walk on water, the only thing you need to worry about when you fail to apply the right amount of chakra was you would sink. If you didn't apply the right amount of chakra when climbing a tree then you could fall off - which might end up hurting if you are high up - or you may be propelled from the tree right through another one - like Naruto had done many a year ago. Luckily that didn't happen with either of his teammates but they did tend to fall off or slip down during the process. Hinata had fallen down on one occasion last week, which led to an embarrassingly uncomfortable position.

(Flashback)

She had tried to run up the tree when simply walking didn't work for her. Her impatience led her to being more than halfway up a rather tall tree but her chakra control faltered and she couldn't stay stuck to the tree. Instead she was repelled slightly by the tree - enough so that she could not restick her feet to the tree with chakra - and was sent falling. Naruto reacted faster than Yamato did - which he ended up praising the young boy on quick reflexes - and leapt to catch her when she would reach the ground. It resulted in a very sore shoulder from where he contacted the ground, but he caught her - only their faces were barely inches apart. They were so close he could feel her breath and smell her hair, which he still is embarrassed about because he remembered what it smelt like. While Yamato was worried about them, Sasuke - who Naruto guessed realized that they were okay - laughed at them both because of their reactions.

"Uhhh, are you o-okay, Hinata-chan?" he managed to sputter out, his face warming up from embarrassment from both the close proximity and Sasuke's laughter.

"H-Hai, Naruto-kun. Th-th-thank you." Her face kept getting redder and redder. "W-would you mind i-if I asked you to l-l-let me go so we can get up?" Naruto jerked his arms out from around her where he had been hugging her close to make sure she didn't land on the ground roughly. They both got up, he rubbing the back of his head embarrassed, and she averting her gaze to the ground. After Yamato gave them a quick look-over to make sure they weren't seriously injured, he called for a break. Later that day, Hinata managed to climb to the top of her tree and sit down on the highest branch.

(End Flashback)

Naruto also had a lot of fun during the taijutsu practice and sparring sessions. Sasuke was frustratingly speedy on his movements but had issues with reflexes. Hinata was not as speedy with her strikes but she was quick on her reflexes and you couldn't get the jump on her. Yamato had praised her on her awareness of everything around her. He had told them that she was learning how to feel out different chakra signatures without the use of her Byakugan - and when he asked Hinata why that was such a good thing, she said that the Byakugan had a blind spot and that with this training she was undergoing, it would eliminate that threat. Naruto had mentally made a note of the blind spot she had mentioned because he figured that Neji probably didn't practice feeling out chakra like Hinata did.

Sasuke was being a lot more cool than he had ever been. A lot more vocal, a lot more friendly, and - surprisingly to Naruto - a rival. Sasuke kept demanding them to spar when Yamato would have them do so and whenever they did, Sasuke always told Naruto to not hold back. That ended up resulting in bloody noses and bruised bodies almost all the time, not to mention bruised egos on both sides. But Naruto had to admit, Sasuke was damn good and damn talented.

Naruto had managed to be able to learn that Siphon jutsu and how it worked and was currently working on ways to manipulate it the way you could manipulate the Water Gathering or the Heat Gatherer. The advice Yamato had given him about how to increase his chakra reserves had worked out. In the past couple weeks, Naruto honestly believed he had increased his reservoirs by two - maybe three - fold. He could now produce well over 50 kage bunshins in one large burst or maintain half a dozen clones for a few hours, which he ended up doing when he would practice any techniques. What was so fun about having the increased reserves was the fact that training was now fun. He could practice his Siphon technique and practice how he could manipulate the chakra gathered winds into doing things he wanted them to. He had already managed to make the winds gather towards his hands and with precise control, was able to create a pulse of chakra that would send out the wind like an invisible blade. Of course, this move was too dangerous to go showing off to his teammates in simple sparring so he refrained from using it against them. But the Kage Bunshins made perfect target practice.

After finishing his breakfast, he gathered the rest of his ninja equipment, inexplicably feeling the urge to bring along not only the scroll but Old Man Sarutobi's bracers. _'Something in my gut is telling me I might need these.'_

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Arashi sat behind his desk, fumbling through some documents as he always seemed to do. Today was gonna be a bit different though. Team Seven was coming for a C-rank mission, something that his son had been very ecstatic about getting. He had the perfect mission too. This one was going to test them on their strong points and their weak points - if the situation called for it. If things went bad, the mission could be considered low B-rank, but with a former ANBU captain assisting them, it would not be that much of an issue. Speaking of the team's instructor, he had read the weekly reports that were required of all the Jounin instructors, and was very pleased with how all the instructors were doing with the newest rookie class.

Kurenai's Team Eight were progressing at an incredible rate. The decision to place Sakura into the team has not only benefitted the team as a whole, but the young girl too. Sakura's progression over the past few weeks have shown an impressive increase in her genjutsu ability, learning a lot of things from Kurenai. Shino's progression was also very positive, his taijutsu still needing work, but his ninjutsu being the best out of the group. His quick thinking, when coupled with Sakura's intelligence and Kurenai's wisdom, led to many effective decisions and tactics. Kiba was the brawn of the group but he was not outclassed in necessity. True, he may be a wild swinger, a bit brash, and hot-headed at times, but he was talented with his family's style of fighting and his keen senses.

Asuma's Team Ten was a bit unorthodox, as far as the reports went. It said that the group was making little progress in fields that were there weakness. Ino was speedy and nimble, but lacked power to back it up. One would think to improve upon that deficiency but Asuma did not. Instead, he was improving upon her strength and making it a superior asset. Ino's progression had mainly been in chakra control so that she could apply chakra to her legs and feet so that her speed would be even greater. Chouji was slow and ineffective, as far as fighting solo. But instead of helping out with the lack of speed, Asuma had him train more in using his techniques and making them stronger. Asuma's whole cell centered around the most unlikely of candidates for such a position. Shikamaru was an outright genius, from what his reports told. The lazy nature of the boy might have seemed like such a weakness that you would be frustrated. But it was in Asuma's reports that when Shikamaru did put forth some effort in their practices, that he would excel over the others. He was not as fast as Ino, but he was smarter, as was the case when he would spar against Chouji. The whole premise behind Asuma's cell - as he had reported to him - was for Ino to be a distraction in the beginning with her speed so that Shikamaru could come in and use his family's 'Shadow Bind' jutsu to hold the foe. While held, Ino would use her 'Mind Transfer' jutsu and then, after taking control of the person's consciousness, would give out a call for Chouji to come in and abuse them with his family's powerful offensive techniques. The team as a whole, when working together, was as close to flawless as it came. It's two main flaws were that when separated they were weak and if they went up against multiple enemies then their main formation wouldn't work. Overall, Arashi had to give them a 'thumbs-up' for staying in the team's design, but if they could not take care of themselves on their own, then all the progress in the world meant nothing.

Yamato's Team Seven were on par with Kurenai's team as far as the training regimen went, but Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto were progressing a much faster pace. Already having training from their families at earlier ages, the more simplistic beginnings of student-instructor interaction could be forgotten. Yamato was capable of attacking their weaknesses head on and was having incredible success doing so. Hinata was quickly improving her taijutsu and was being trained by Yamato on how to use her own chakra to feel out chakra around her. By doing so, the blind spot of the Byakugan could be eliminated, if close enough to be felt by her waves. Sasuke was getting even faster and his reflexes were improving, Yamato focusing on that. Sasuke was not built for powerful fighting, but for finness, and the faster his movements were, the more the speed would make up for a power deficiency. Naruto's progress had been excellent, as well. His chakra reserves were increasing and his taijutsu was becoming more polished. He wasn't as fast as Sasuke and he wasn't as quick on the reflexes as Hinata was, but his control of chakra was giving him a great edge in power.

"It's strange, Jiraiya. You and I trained him while he was a child but when he went to the academy, it just seemed to waste. Now, here he is showing exactly what he is capable of." Jiraiya, who was sitting in the chair across from him, replacing Kakashi until he returned from Wave Country as Arashi's right hand man, chuckled at his apprentice's words.

"You must be referring to the fact that your son seems to have made a drastic increase in such a short amount of time. I, too, find it curious that he is pushing himself so hard when he didn't do so back in the academy. Perhaps it is because he finally saw the hole he dug himself into by neglecting his training all that time." Jiraiya had a confident look on his face with the words spoken. He had told Naruto that if he continued to neglect his training he would not be able to keep up with the others and he would end up regretting it. But the arrogant child waved him off.

"Maybe, but I think it is the fact he has competition. He has seen what has happened around him and he feels shame that he has not kept up the pace we had set for him. He wanted to get strong on his own and I kinda think that he did not train when we wanted him to was because he wanted to prove he could do it on his own. Now with Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata around him, constantly improving and getting better, he feels the need to put out even more effort." Jiraiya looked at Arashi after he had finished that statement and thought about Arashi's analysis.

"If he keeps this up, he may end up getting stronger than you eventually. He's still not as strong as you were back when you were his age, but then again, not many were. Do you think he will be ready for the chuunin exam that's about a month or so away?" Jiraiya asked him, wanting to know if he could come up with a plausible reason for thinking they would. It would be unorthodox if a rookie team entered during their first year but then again, crazier things have happened. "When is the Chuunin Exam anyway?"

"Exactly one month after the end of the Festival of Fire. As to your question, in two months time, they very well might, but that is up to their instructor. Hmm...it appears Team Seven is here for their mission." The door then opened up and stepping in was Yamato, Sasuke, Hinata, and Naruto. Naruto looked at his father expectantly, literally on the balls of his feet. "Welcome, Team Seven. I am pleased with your progress in the field the past few weeks. Because of your efforts and the progress you have made, I have decided to give you a mission of the utmost importance." Naruto stopped bouncing on his feet when he heard the seriousness in the voice and paid careful attention. "I trust that you all know of the Festival of Fire correct? The day held every five years to celebrate the formation of Fire Country. Your team will be in charge of escorting a feudal lord here for the ceremonies, which will be taking place in Konoha this time."

"You're telling us to escort some lord to our village? Why hire shinobi for the job? Why not he get his own guards to do that for him?" Yamato gave Naruto that 'Scary-Mode On' look, which sent him into a fit of trembling.

"The reason, Naruto, is because of what is in the possession of this feudal lord. You see, every five years the Festival of Fire occurs. During those ceremonies, the treasure of Fire Country is handed down from one feudal lord to another. The lords that have been chosen in the past have been the leaders of their villages. This year is no different. This year, Lord Vule will be passing the Ruby of Firaga to me in the ceremony. The Ruby is very precious and very valuable, and on many an occasion have theft attempts been made on the jewel. The reason you have been requested is not because he asked for you but because **_I_** have requested you. This mission would normally be an A-class mission but I have arranged things so that it would be considered C-class."

"Arrangements, Hokage-sama?" asked Yamato.

"Yes. They are coming right now. You will be teaming with Team Eight on this matter. Kurenai has already been briefed on the matter and she has most likely relayed the information to her team as well, so once they get in here and you are all dismissed, you should be able to leave as soon as possible." With that, Kurenai, Kiba, Shino, and Sakura walked into the office. Kurenai seemed a bit shocked that her team would be teaming with Yamato's but that didn't really matter to her. She would be able to see how Hinata had progressed. Kiba looked like he was disgusted with the fact that he would be teaming with Team Seven but instantly softened when he saw Hinata. Shino looked on as impassively as always, not making much of a sound other than the shuffling of his feet or the rustle of his coat when he would move. Sakura was a completely different story. She stood stock still the moment her eyes layed on Sasuke. Sasuke noticed this, looked her in the eyes, and then looked away. But his eyes kept trailing back to her, amused by the fact that she kept looking at him. "Welcome Team Eight. I am happy that you made it to meet with your partners for this mission. You will all listen to your instructors and pay close attention to any instructions they give you. This mission could get messy and the protection of the Ruby is first and foremost, as is the defense of Lord Vule. Understood? Good, you are dismissed."

After leaving the room and exiting the tower, every genin was instructed to go back to their home and pack for a much longer trip than they had originally planned. One week should be enough. One hour later, everyone had met back at the designated gate for them to leave Konoha, packed and ready to go. Yamato stepped forward to address all the genins.

"Alright. The trip to Lord Vule's village should not take US but a day to reach, going all out, and we should not run into any trouble on our way to the village. So I don't think a formation is necessary. Just stay close together, do not get lost, and be aware of your surroundings. I think that is everything so lets head out." Yamato stepped back, turned to the huge gate, waved to the two men on top, and they opened it. He and Kurenai took the lead, while the genins just stayed behind them, getting into whatever style they wanted to.

As they jumped through the trees, the only thing sound being made was the rustling of leaves as they pushed off the branches, Naruto decided to get acquainted with his new teammates. He edged slightly closer to Kiba, who noticed him and sent him an unwanted look. Naruto either didn't see it or ignored it.

"So whatcha been up to, Kiba?" It was a simple question, he thought. But apparently it wasn't to Kiba.

"Why do you wanna know?" Naruto continued to ignore his tone.

"Well, I'm making the attempt to be friendly but if you don't wanna cooperate, then I'll just go elsewhere." stated Naruto to the Inuzuka, who looked a little caught off guard.

Naruto decided to make his way to Sakura, who he thought might be easier to talk to than the brash Kiba. "Hey Sakura, how do you stand that guy? Doesn't he just get on your nerves?" He never had made that much of an effort to get to know the pink-haired girl and he sort of regretted that but at the same time he didn't. She was intelligent, but she chose to constantly oggle at Sasuke all the damn time, which she appeared to be doing here.

"Oh, Kiba? He's fine, just a little mad that he has to share a mission that was supposed to be our first C-rank. He'll get over it, don't mind him." She finished with a rather sweet smile that Naruto admired. Unknown to them, Hinata was biting her lower lip. "So how have you and your team been?"

"Oh us? We've been doing great with Yamato-sensei. How about you guys, are you all doing good?" Kiba decided to join in on this.

"Hell yeah, we are. Kurenai thinks we may even be good enough to put us in the Chuunin exams this year. We're gonna dominate too. What about you guys? You gonna enter?" Naruto could've sworn that that was a challenge to him. Kiba was a naturally aggressive individual, but he seemed to be more aggressive than ever before.

"That's a good question. I had totally forgotten that the exams were coming up as well. Hey Yamato-sensei, will we be entering?" Naruto asked a little hopefully.

"Well..." Yamato trailed off. He didn't know how to attack this situation. He had to admit that his teams progress had increased dramatically and was overall impressed with how the younger generations seemed to just get more and more talented. Even the ANBU had a rather young individual in it right now that was very talented. Naruto's reserves were increasing like he hoped, Hinata was trying to eliminating her only weakness that he could think of, and Sasuke was improving his chakra control with the help of Naruto. All of them were quickly polishing any sloppiness in their fighting, even if they were still a good bit inexperienced, and he couldn't help but marvel with how quickly they seemed to get along with each other. "Maybe. I haven't decided upon that yet."

Kurenai allowed her eyes to gaze at the man that had just spoken. He was obviously strong but he wondered if he was able to progress his team. Moving closer and talking low, she addressed Yamato. "So how has your team done?"

"Oh, well they have come along well. You will probably be pleased to hear that Hinata is improving at a pleasant rate, as are Naruto and Sasuke. I have a question for you though? The chuunin exams...don't you think it is a bit early to enter them into that type of environment?" He looked towards her to see if he could see any significant changes in her demeanor to hint at doubts. But there were not any noteworthy reactions. Her eyes actually seemed to glow with confidence.

"That is one thing that they do not like, Yamato. The genin of this year don't like to be thought of as children. Yes, they are young. Yes, it might seem early. But they are adults. Allow them to make the decision. I did. I simply asked them how much effort they were willing to put out in order to become stronger. When they continued to show confidence, I informed them of the exam. Sakura was a bit apprehensive but Kiba's energy can be infectious at times. Plus, she seems to have extra motivation. How about your team...anyone stand out?" He took note of the fact that her last question seemed to have hope written all over it.

"If you are referring to the young girl, then yes, she has shown tremendous talent. But I can't really say for sure which one of my students are more talented than the rest. I guess I see them all as being better than each other on something. Hinata has incredible reflexes and awareness, Sasuke is fast and quick, and Naruto is strong and durable. There performance is good individually and they work great together. Maybe I will take your advice." Yamato said, finishing his description. The jounin assigned to teach the teams had not had a good chance to talk since they first were notified a few weeks back.

As the young shinobi kept leaping from tree branch to tree branch, wind whipping across their features and allowing the somewhat pleasant smell of the foliage to calm them, Naruto took notice of a rather curious display by Sakura. She kept edging her focus towards Sasuke every now and then, and would blush furiously and try to hide the fact she was doing so when Sasuke would turn around to look for the source of the person staring at him. Whether or not he knew that Sakura was watching him, Naruto was unsure of, but he was positive that Sakura wasn't doing a good enough job hiding it.

What was the thing that enthralled almost all of the younger female shinobi to idolize him the way they did? What was it that Sasuke had done to receive such attention? Naruto wasn't jealous of the guy by any standards except for the fact that he had been more of a success than Naruto, himself, had been. Naruto had made friends and befriended others along the way. He had his own group of people that he was close to and he knew they would be there for him. Was Sasuke on that list? Yes, he was, and mainly for one reason. The guy was his teammate. They were on the same team and Naruto was a believer of the old saying "Your team is your second family. Never try to sabotage the bond that should be formed between you and your family." Naruto looked back to the pink-haired kunoichi and decided to have just a little bit of fun.

"Hey Sakura, you feeling okay?" When she looked at him confused, he grinned mischievously. "I mean, you keep looking red and you-"

"I'm fine!" she snapped, blushing again.

"Alright, if you say so." but then he leaned in closer to her ear to whisper something. "But it won't help to just be silent. Go talk to him if you are so interested." She looked back at him a little confused until he nodded his head in Sasuke's direction. "Go on." he whispered to her again, as she blushed slightly and started to move towards him. Naruto suddenly felt like he was on the receiving end of the wishful thinking for his untimely death. Looking around, he noticed Kiba's glare intensely on him. Naruto just smiled back at him and moved towards Hinata to join her by her side, earning an even more furious glare.

Naruto seemed to notice Hinata sulking slightly until he returned to her, in which she loosened up. Another thing that caught his attention was the fact that Sakura had moved back to being closer to her teammates, looking devastated. _'What the hell did he say to her!' _he couldn't help but question inwardly. "You seem to be quiet...er...than you normally are. Is something troubling you, Hinata?" he asked her, a little concerned for her. He always liked to see her a bit more cheerful than she appeared right now, so he was trying to crush whatever it was that was making her like this.

"Oh, it's n-nothing, Naruto. I've just been...thinking..."

"You know, it always hurts if you do that too much." he teased her, causing a light giggle to escape her. "Glad to see you're back, now I can shut up." She looked at him a little confused but couldn't help but see the over-exaggerated face he made at tensing his facial muscles to keep his lips sealed and giggle more at him. The rest of the trip to the village was quiet except for the random question, the random comment, or the random joke thrown about the group. The sun was starting to set and Naruto was wondering if they would make it in time. The muscles in his legs were starting to voice their displeasure with the pace of the entire day and he knew that when they would stop for the day, he would be hurting well into tomorrow.

"The village should come into view, everyone, past this upcoming clearing. We're only a half hour away, just be patient." Kurenai was a bit worried and had convinced Yamato to slow down their pace for fear of causing harm and making the genin, for the lack of a better term, useless tomorrow. Everyone seemed to be showing signs of exhaustion, and she was silently thankful that she had worked on her team's stamina already. Maybe a dip into the hot springs tonight would be in order. She mentioned the idea to Yamato, who agreed. Just a few minutes later and they were standing in front of the gates to the village. Kurenai stepped to the front of the group after telling them to get into a straight line and spoke with the guards at the gate.

"We are here as per request to see and escort Lord Vule." She handed a letter with the Hokage's seal and signature on it. They looked at the seal and realized that it is meant only for the lord's eyes. Standing aside, they motion for the group to enter. Another guard steps out from the inside of the gate and tells them to follow him.

As they make their way through the town, they took in the surroundings. The village was a flourishing, thriving community. It had a number of restaurants, shops, bars, and inns and the people who walked on the streets looked like normal individuals. All the genin were wanting to speak with this lord and then get off their feet and relax. Kurenai could sense this and decided to lift up their spirits.

"Maybe you don't know this, but this village has great hot springs. After we speak with Lord Vule, we will go and relax there. The heat will do wonders for your muscles." Sakura beamed at her words, ever so thankful that she would be able to rest her aching legs. Hinata likewise, her calf muscles felt like they were going cramp up. In fact, her left leg did start cramping and she started to limp, favoring the leg. She stayed silent as her leg complained, but it did not go unnoticed, and before she could realize it, Naruto had walked in front of her, bent down slightly, and scooped her up. She gasped slightly and blushed furiously as Naruto had picked her up and put her on his back in a piggy-back style.

"N-Naruto-kun, wha-"

"You looked like you were having trouble walking." Before she could protest, he continued. "Don't worry about it, I'm fine. Besides, a team looks out for their comrades, right Hinata?" Hinata just sighed heavily and relaxed. She knew Naruto wouldn't take no for an answer anyways. The stubborn blonde always seemed to be looking out for her and it made her feel...comfortable. She didn't want to be treated any differently than anyone else and she especially didn't want to be a burden but right now, she felt that she could stand to accept being pampered...just a little.

"Thank you" she whispered into his ears, the red tint never leaving her face but was lightening a bit as she calmed down and relaxed, focusing her chakra - what was left of it - into her left leg to try and stop the cramp. Kiba, meanwhile, mumbled underneath his breath, Shino remained quiet and stoic, and Sakura had hearts in her eyes. She had to refrain from shouting 'kawaii' after Naruto explained why he was carrying her, the scene being just adorable. _'If only Sasuke and I could be like that'_ she thought to herself miserably, as she stole another glance at Sasuke. He had been containing himself during the scene, thinking that it was embarrassing that Naruto had done that for her, but had struggled to not laugh at them. Kurenai, too, was grinning as she knew what had happened, stealing a glance behind her to check out what was causing the minor commotion. She chuckled lightly, as did Yamato.

A few minutes later they were at the front of a large building. It was not the size of the Hyuuga manor but it was easily the largest of buildings in this town. Guards stood at the front gates and stepped aside to allow them entrance when they saw the group's escort. That guard led them to a large door, which was opened with a slight raucous. The creak that the old door made was evidence of the age of the building. Naruto was impressed though, that as old as the place might be, it looked to be well taken care of. The floors were wooden but were no where near the age of the door. When you took a step, the floor did not groan. The lighting of the hallways was dimmer than his home, since it was being lit by small torches. In an age where you had electricity, these places were rare, in Naruto's eyes. Because of the lack of lighting, the wall's color wasn't exactly visible. They finally stopped in front of a door as the guide asked for permission to enter from whoever was inside. A voice came through from the inside, giving them permission to enter. He opened the door for them and they walked inside, Naruto setting Hinata back down since she had whispered she would be fine.

"Welcome, I was given notice by the Yondaime that I might receive something from him about the upcoming festival, a letter of accomodations to be made. Are you here to deliver that message?" the man said with a regal tone. The man - who Naruto could only guess was the lord - was of average height and build. He stood with his back to them, his salt-and-pepper hair reaching to his mid-back, and he was wearing a dark red evening robe with black lines swirling all around the cloth. He turned around to see them and his eyes held shock when he saw the genin. "Might I ask why you may have needed such a large group of companions?"

"It is all explained in this letter, Vule-sama." explained Kurenai as she bowed to him, approached him and gave him letter. The letter glowed slightly before returning to normal and the man opened the envelope, taking out the piece of paper inside and reading the message. A minute later, he folded the letter back up and took a good luck at the people before him.

"Well, this is certainly interesting. He has sent such a large team to escort me to the village. I am honored by his gesture." His smile then changed to a stern look, a look you would expect from a commander. "As you all know, the Firaga Ruby is highly sought after, as many attempts are made to steal this item. It is most vulnerable when it is taken out of the village for the traditional voyage that the holder of the ruby must partake in order to pass it on to the next village. On these voyages, the threat level of the ruby's theft is heightened to critical status. I am very pleased that he has sent shinobi of his own village, for this year, I have a bad feeling. An omen of ill will has been seen and I fear that if I did not have ample protection on this journey then I would surely fail in delivering it to Konoha." All the ninja present, even Yamato, were surprised at his words. "We must leave tomorrow. I gather from your looks that you are all weary from your travels so I will have arrangements made for you to sleep in the guest quarters of my home. Please make yourself at ease. If you would like, you are also free to enjoy the hot springs nearby." A silent cheer was made from inside most of the shinobi.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Vule-sama." spoke Yamato, taking a slight bow. "Kurenai, how about you take them to the guest rooms and then go to the hot springs. I'll join shortly after speaking with Vule about a few more things." Kurenai nodded, bowed to Vule, and then motioned for the genin to follow her. Once outside, they were led by a servant to the area they would be staying in for the evening and were assigned to different rooms. Hinata and Sakura were to stay in one room, Shino and Kiba in another room, Naruto and Sasuke in a third room, and she and Yamato would take turns guarding Vule's room and would therefore, share a room. After dropping off most of their stuff, except for the change of clothes, they started to make their way to springs. Shino had opted to stay behind. When questioned if he would be fine, he simply replied "hai."

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"Aaaaaaaaah, this water feels great. Damn I'm sore." spoke Naruto, not really directing the statement to anyone in particular. Sasuke couldn't help but agree. A full day of running at that pace had worn him out more than he thought it would. Kiba, who was in the bath, looked like he was enjoying himself as well, but still seemed to be bitter about something. Akamaru, his dog, was swimming and splashing around merrily. "So...what did you say to Sakura, Sasuke?" asked Naruto, eyeing the questioned boy curiously.

"I told her no." he said lazily. When Naruto gave him a confused look, Sasuke sighed and decided to elaborate. "She asked if I would like to go out with her sometime when we got back. I said no. I just don't care about that kind of stuff right now." Naruto rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, I guess I can understand that, but what would it hurt to just talk to her and be friends with her. She kept watching you and she always has liked you-"

"You don't think I know that? Between her and that blonde shrew, I don't know who is worse. She, as well as the other girls who were in our class, kept hounding me all the time. The only one who didn't was Hinata and that was because she hounded you." he finished, earning a slightly shocked expression from Naruto. Then Sasuke thought about something and came up with an idea. "Or was it the other way around with you two?" Naruto turned slightly red and Sasuke was pleased with his accomplishment. Kiba just now decided to join in on the conversation.

"I agree with Sasuke, here, and it is probably the only thing I'll agree with him on. You two always seemed to be together. Are you two betrothed or something?" he asked. Inside he was laughing his ass off because right at that moment, Naruto face-vaulted right into the water. When he came back up, he was really red, but you couldn't tell whether that was from the heat of the springs or from embarrassment.

"M-Me and Hinata aren't anything like that. We're just friends and we've known each other for a while now. That's all. Geez, why does everyone try to read too much into things like that." He then heard Yamato's boisterous laughter come from behind him. The man had apparently just gotten to the springs and was now getting in the water.

"You really are hilarious when you get like that Naruto. Besides, are you afraid of something more than friendship occurring?" At this question, he waited eagerly to see if Naruto would actually answer, as did Kiba and Sasuke. Despite the fact that he may have had issues with Naruto, this was an easily enjoyable situation that Kiba was in.

"It's not that I'm _afraid _of anything like that, it's just...I guess...I'm sort of like Sasuke on this topic, you know?" he answered, sounding unsure. "I mean, I like Hinata and all but I don't think of her in that way. She's my best friend and that's all I want right now." This raised another question in Kiba's mind.

"Why is she your best friend anyways? It just seems so unlikely that you guys would be best friends, you both being from practically different worlds and all." he asked, now wanting to be more friendly. Something about Naruto just made you want to like the guy, no matter how frustrating he might seem to you.

"Well, she was the first person I ever met outside my family who didn't treat me 'special.' Heck, the way she acted towards me was 'special' in the sense that I rarely received that kind of treatment. She didn't treat me like royalty or feel obligated to treat me with respect. She treated me just the way I was when I met her, a kid, of her own age. That's why I liked her and that's why I wanted to be friends with her. Then, pieces just fell into place, I guess." When he finished, he looked around at the others, waiting for them to throw a wisecrack at him but it never came. Hearing the splashing of an apparently happy dog, Naruto wondered since when did Kiba have that dog. He couldn't remember him being with the mutt the entire time they were in school. "Oy, Kiba, how long have you had that puppy? I can't recall when you started to show up with it."

Kiba looked at the blonde warily, judging to see whether or not he was being serious about the question or if he was just trying to change the subject. The cobalt eyes of Naruto did not hold any hidden meaning behind his question, it was actually genuine. "I got Akamaru from my sister about two weeks before the finals. Our family uses specially trained canines who are versed in beast ninjutsu to fight alongside us. She gave me Akamaru as an early gift but said that if I didn't pass, that not only would she kick my ass but she would take Akamaru back. He and I got along too well and so I resolved myself to pass that final exam. Now me and Akamaru are gonna train hard and be the strongest in our family, right boy?" The dog turned its attention to Kiba and barked with enthusiasm. Maybe Naruto had misjudged Kiba as well. The guy had a great passion for his family and it's heritage and he took his training and progression seriously.

Again Sasuke had remained silent during the whole conversation. Naruto found it increasingly frustrating that he had the luck of being teamed with two of the quietest people in all of the shinobi world. It was a necessary skill to be silent and stealthy on missions but when you are relaxing and trying to have fun, then Naruto would hope that anyone would lighten up and express themselves. "Sasuke, you're no fun, you know that? All you do is listen. Well talk for once, gah." Naruto finished by shaking his hands in the air.

"What is there for me to say, dobe?" asked Sasuke, keeping his eyes closed as he continued to relax. The real reason he wasn't speaking was because he wanted to relax, although Naruto's words earlier kept playing through his mind. Naruto just shrugged his shoulders, unsure himself, and closed his eyes, relishing in the heat, the day's journey and its effects just flowing out of him.

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Meanwhile, on the other side of the springs, the three female members on the mission were enjoying the water as well. Sakura had practically leaped into the water. She was so excited about getting the chance to enjoy the water, she forgot to take her towel off. Coming up from out of the water and throwing the damp towel onto the dry land, she sat down in the shallow area of the water and took a deep sigh of relief. She was soon accompanied by Kurenai, who discarded her towel in a much more civilized manner and not getting her's wet and came into the water as well. Breathing deeply, she exhaled in satisfaction. Hinata was the last to come to the water, kneeling down to test the heat of the water with her toes. She closed her eyes, loving how good the heat felt just on her toes. She slowly took her towel off, leaving it close to the edge and slipped in gingerly. Her body was aching too. She hadn't been through that kind of activity ever. Not even on the days when her father pushed her was she ever pushed this much. But she had managed and she now knew she was capable of something like this.

As the water helped relax the girls, Kurenai couldn't help but be impressed. She hadn't expected Sakura to come along so fast as to make this entire journey without voicing any displeasure. When her team was first formed on that day, Sakura had shown that she was a pampered girl. She got frustrated often and was very vocal in her displeasure with her team. She had insulted her teammates constantly for the first couple of days, always saying that Kiba smelled like dogs all the time (which he did), that his dog was stupid, and that Shino was freaky and disgusting for having all those bugs with him. Kurenai's early assumptions were that she was spoiled and just an incredible shrew. Her only thoughts were that Hinata should have been on her team and that the Hokage had screwed her. However, despite all the bad points about Sakura, there was some talent hidden behind her very feminine exterior. So Kurenai had decided to have a little chat with her after their second day of practice. They couldn't really perform missions if the team, as a whole, was uncomfortable with each other.

What Kurenai had found out was that Sakura really was a bright and intelligent girl but there was something else behind her feminine beliefs that a young girl such as her should have to be around bugs and smelly dogs. Her agitation was fueled by a school girl crush. Sakura had honestly believed, in her heart of hearts, that she deserved to be on the same team as Sasuke. She believed that she and he would have made a great 'team.' Kurenai hated to do it, but she had to burst her bubble and get through her naivety if they were ever going to co-exist on a team. She scolded her for her beliefs and her fanciful dreams of happiness with a prince charming. Sakura was a kunoichi now and she was placed onto the team that was best suited for her. Sakura had seemed defiant, so Kurenai put it all in a nutshell for Sakura. Her fighting was sloppy, her taijutsu was a mess, and her ninjutsu was average at best. She was intelligent and she did have talent at genjutsu, but that would not save her in a confrontation. If she ever wanted to be successful then she would have accept that she was on Kurenai's team and that her partners were Kiba, with his canine similarities, and Shino, with his bugs. The cherry on top was when she told Sakura that if she ever wanted to impress Sasuke, that it would be beneficial to listen to her and she would become strong in no time. After that heart to heart chat, Sakura came back the next day and apologized to the team, trained harder than Kurenai had ever expected, and improved on her weak points. Strange how quickly things can change and it's even stranger how emotions tend to influence those changes.

Now Kurenai was here, with her pupil and the one she had hoped to have as her pupil, and she couldn't help but wonder at how well Hinata might be improving. The girl seemed frail and brittle at times. Her pale, porcelain skin giving her the look of a fragile doll and her thin, petit body not giving her the look of a kunoichi who should be trained in combat, but then again, maybe Kurenai was just being overprotective...or she was jealous. Now Kurenai had the ability to judge an individuals strength by merely looking at them, an insight that most jounin achieve, but her perception was a lot better than others. And when she had seen Hinata in the Hokage's tower earlier today, she was taken aback by what she felt. It wasn't just her, but the entire group had gone through an incredible improvement. The demeanor seemed to be one that exuded confidence as the three genin on Team Seven seemed to be quite strong and Kurenai could only guess as to what Yamato was putting them through. But Hinata did not seem to show any signs that she was uncomfortable. In fact, the girl seemed to radiate, and Kurenai felt that she had missed out on something - something huge - and she was desperate to find out why Hinata was exuding such confidence now. Could it be the fact that she was placed on the same team as Uzumaki Naruto or somethng else entirely. Before Kurenai could ask Hinata anything, Sakura had been the one to speak up.

"Hey, Hinata, how are you feeling?" Sakura asked with curiosity.

"I'm fine. A little sore, but I'm fine." In truth, Hinata was really sore and very exhausted, but she didn't want anyone to worry over her.

"Even your leg?" Hinata started to answer until Sakura cut her off. "I'm just wondering since Naruto had to carry you." Hinata ducked into the water until her nose was just barely above the surface but the red tint could still be seen. Kurenai couldn't help but laugh at her. Mind you, it wasn't one of those holding-your-sides laughs but a light one. Hinata continued to be a predictable enigma and it amused Kurenai to no end.

"Y-Yes, it is okay. I-It was just a light cramp." She slowly rose back up, where she was caught smiling. Sakura seized this opportunity, not having a girl to talk with except her sensei and she wanted to enjoy this chance as much as possible. She didn't know much about Hinata anyway so this was a perfect chance to become friendly with her.

"Awwww, what was with that smile, hmmm?" Hinata blushed again and feared where this conversation might lead. She had not been deaf to all the rumors that had spread about in the classrooms and on the streets. The youth of their generation seemed to have a field day when it came to 'juicy' gossip...and she and Naruto had been on the receiving end of a lot of it.

"Th-there was nothing with my s-smile. I-I was-" but she couldn't finish as Sakura had interrupted her.

"Just thinking about your favorite blonde?" Sakura said, meaning for it to be interpreted as her finishing Hinata's statement. Asking a question wasn't bad but the question she asked had Hinata on the ropes. Sakura was very interested with them. After hearing all the rumors that had spread among the various kunoichi-hopefuls and even some of the guys, Sakura saw now as the chance to finally see if any of it was true. She had heard anything from 'I heard they were arranged to be married when they get older' to 'They're actually related to each other through blood.' The latter one was the most far-fetched but you would be surprised with how these rumors can start and spiral out of control. And even though they were not the only victims of such gossip, they tended to be the juiciest topic.

Hinata's eyes bulged when Sakura interrupted and tried to finish her statement. It wasn't what Hinata was going to say but...it was what her mind was on. Hinata feared right then that Sakura might be able to read minds. A childish thought though, since if she did have that ability, the pink-haired kunoichi would have said much more than that by now. She started twiddling her thumbs and drooped her head so that her face couldn't be completely seen. She couldn't think of a comeback and was at a complete loss of words.

Seeing Hinata's distress, Sakura felt a little guilty and decided to rectify the situation. She had been hoping to gain the girl's trust so they could be friendly and this would only have Hinata fearing her. "I'm just teasing, Hinata. It's just..." How could she say this right, was what Sakura was thinking. "You guys really are good friends. He seems to look out for you, like you'd expect a big brother to do for his little sister. Right, Kurenai-sensei?"

Kurenai smiled and nodded her head. "He's always been like that too. Naruto cares for those who are close to him and you are no different." she said to Hinata. Her red eyes, though one might be intimidated by them, were gentle and caring. Her words had been intended with the best of intentions, as had Sakura's, but they were taken in a different manner within Hinata's mind.

_'Is that what I am to Naruto? A little sister that he has to watch out for?'_ Her inner-thoughts made her face take on a sorrowful look. Sakura saw the change in demeanor, as did Kurenai, and they both became worried.

"Hinata? Are you okay?" asked Sakura, getting closer and putting a hand on her shoulder. (She would never know how her words would change Hinata.) Hinata jerked out of her thoughts, determined to not make anyone worry about her. She beamed at her, the sudden change startling Sakura and surprising Kurenai.

"Yes, I am Sakura-chan." She then began to think about what happened earlier this day and became curious of Sakura's actions today. "If I may ask, what was it that you and Naruto spoke of on our way here?" Sakura then blushed herself, which had a double reaction within Hinata. She became: a) worried that the blush might be an indication of a hidden infatuation with Naruto, and b) relieved that she was not the only one who blushed around here. _'But what is she blushing for?'_ asked Hinata to herself. Thankfully, Sakura was a lot more open than she had expected and her words had an unexpected calming effect on Hinata.

"He just suggested that I should try to speak with Sasuke. I...I've liked Sasuke and I only want him to like me. I went up to him...and asked if he would like to hang out sometime when we got back...but he rejected me." She had partially lied but she felt that it was an unimportant factor. She had not asked if Sasuke would like to 'hang-out' but if he would like to 'go on a date' when they got back and he had said no. Kurenai caught it though and made her correct herself.

"I have sharper hearing than you think Sakura. Didn't you ask him out on a date?"

Sakura's jaw dropped and she was blushing more and more furiously with each passing second. "I..I didn't think that was...something necessary towards the conversation." Little did Sakura know, it was.

"Sakura-san, if you don't mind me saying, Sasuke-kun had told us that he doesn't care for a relationship of any level." Hinata saw Sakura's head hang down after she finished but then she looked back up to her with hope-filled eyes.

"Can you give me any advice here? I'll take anything." She was desperate. Sakura really did like Sasuke and if it would take time then she would accept that but she wanted to be able to hang around with him and be friendly with him.

"Sasuke-kun...I think he is perfectly fine with being friends. I don't know much about him but he seems to be fine with being friends with me and Naruto-kun. I don't think he should refuse being friendly towards you, just make sure he understands that you want to be friends, I guess. I don't really know though." When Hinata finished, Sakura pondered her words and thought to herself about how she would approach Sasuke. _'Maybe if I apologize first then ask him if he wouldn't mind being friends then everything will be okay.' _After thinking about it though, it seemed stupid and hopeless. But nothing was ever hopeless which was something Kurenai had taught her. _'If he wouldn't be friends with a simple apology then maybe I can impress him into paying attention to me.'_

They made more small talk about simple things and about their teams. They talked about their progress, their life, their past, their plans for the future, even. Hinata felt completely at ease with Sakura now and felt she could consider her a friend. When Kurenai felt it was getting late, they got out, dried off, changed into their evening attire and made their way back to their rooms. The boys were coming back too and they all said their good evenings as they went to their rooms - Sakura even went into the room where Kiba and Shino were supposed to be using a room and said good evening to Shino, who replied with a drone 'good night' of his own. As they all fell asleep, Kurenai and Yamato exchanged turns for watching out for any possible intruders.

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So there you have it. This might be a tad long and I hope it doesn't intimidate anyone. This chapter took me a while to write, as you can tell with my obvious lack of updating for a while. If you felt this chapter was a little rushed, let me know. If you felt it was too fluffy, I apologize. I just love the pairing between them. They are two of my favorite characters.

Though I have said I don't want to beg for reviews, I do want to say that they are now more appreciated than ever. If you liked this chapter, tell me. If you didn't, tell me why? If you think I could have improved on something, go ahead and leave me constructive criticism.

The next chapter is gonna be brilliant, in my opinion. A little preview may be in order. Here goes: As the two teams leave with Lord Vule - who is the escort of the Firaga Ruby - they find themselves encountering the trouble that was mentioned by the Hokage and the lord. Conflict ensues as the teams are tested to their limits against a foe none of them saw coming.


	8. Chapter 8

Hello all and welcome to another installment. This one came a lot easier and I must say that I am pleased with the detail I decided to put into this chapter. Just to let everyone know, I have no idea who the Yondaime's wife is so this is just an OC I made up. Hope you enjoy her more now that I have somewhat introduced more of her character. Also, I wanted to let you know that I will have more OCs in this chapter and the next one too so I hope you don't mind. This chapter was a lot of fun for me to write. I ended up writing and could not stop. This is probably the fastest I wrote a chapter of this length. But you know how inspiration is. Once again, I want to thank those that reviewed my last chapter. Hope you all enjoy this chapter as much as I did writing it. Without further ado, I present to you -

Chapter Eight - The Omen, The Rogue, and The Rebel

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Uzumaki Arashi was a man of many different styles, beliefs, and practices. It just so happened that on this one morning, he was in the process of going over one such practice. A coffee mug in his hand, and a stack of documents around him that he had brought home last night, he was in the process of going over those documents. One such document was a status update on Kakashi's team over in Wave Country. So far, they had dealt with a great deal of Gatou's men and had successfully taken down his hideout. Now they had, in custody, Zabuza, his accomplice - Haku (who was in critical condition but has since recovered) - and the crime lord Gatou. They would be returning within a week or so. Arashi was very proud of his apprentice and was glad that he didn't seem to miss a beat. Back as ANBU captain, Kakashi would be able to flourish and might be able to take his mind off of the horrible incident that had occurred with his old team. Arashi still blamed himself, even to this day, just as Kakashi does, for what happened to them.

So many things seemed to haunt the Yondaime: the events of his past, the decisions from that past, and the decisions made as Hokage. He was forever plagued by images that seemed to make him fearful of karma's backlash, whenever it may come. He could only hope that he would be strong enough to stand up to it, whatever **_it_** might be. His home, his village, his people, and...his family. He would have to stand up to defend them at some point.

His family was where a great deal of his issues came from. Not because he had issues with his family but because it was seemingly unbecoming of a Hokage to settle down and start a family, even though the third had done so. The truth was that the elders of the village had always been at his throat. They truly felt that he was not the leader they had expected. The head of the Uchiha family or the Hyuuga family had been more appealing candidates, mainly because they were considered to be Konoha's pride and the representative of their dominance in the shinobi world. The Third, however, had seen that as insulting.

He hadn't come from some prominent family of well-known status. What Sarutobi was, was a man of incredible power, with virtues very becoming of a Hokage. The Nidaime, when he chose him, was considered a fool for choosing the soft-spoken, peace loving man. Sarutobi was seen as nothing but a tree-hugger and insulted silently, even though he always seemed to make the right decisions and only did so in the name of his people. Even in the face of great tragedy and incredible opposition, he made the wisest and most tactical of decisions during the war. The Yondaime had participated in that war, and his performance in it was what propelled his status in the village. He was seen for who he was, not as his reputation should automatically say for him. He did not come from a famous clan, he did not have a bloodline - or at least any bloodline that was phenomeninal like the Byakugan or Sharingan - and he did not have political assistance. But his virtues were seen for what they were and Sarutobi felt that he would be a much better Hokage than any of the other highly expected choices like Orochimaru, the head of Uchiha or Hyuuga. Without the attention on him, Arashi had risen among the ranks and had become one of the most revered of all shinobi and was now the Hokage of Konoha, and he couldn't be any happier.

His happiest moment, however, will always be when their family was made whole. He had fallen in love with a simple woman, Kidikime Collette, at second sight, a durastic difference from fanciful tales of romance with love-at-first-sight. When he had first met the woman, he was on a mission and had been injured, as had his comrades, and he had to take refuge. The only place close was a shrine. The shrine was renown for frowning upon those who harbor malevolent thoughts and desire the injury of others. They would rather their inhabitants learn to turn the other cheek and just ignore those who are aggressive. The smell of blood was heavy on them, as was their history, and he feared that he would be sent away, but the lady who answered the door was very kind and understanding of their situation. She offered them shelter and care for their injuries and had Arashi and his comrades escorted to the 'healing ward.'

A few minutes later, a few young individuals - both male and female - walked in wearing the attire of monks and priestesses. There was one person for each man who was injured and the person who cared for Arashi's injuries was the same lady who had allowed them shelter. She had extraordinary ability, her salves and cremes - which he had later found out were her own creations made from various herbs which had been praised and blessed by the shrine's most powerful of monks - quickly healing his wounds. After a few days, they had to leave, but not before he got her name. When he left, he felt a ripping feeling inside of him and couldn't help but feel that he was leaving something special behind. It was a few years later, after he had become Hokage, that he had received word that someone wished to see him. He reluctantly agreed upon hearing that it was a messenger from a holy shrine, not quite able to put two and two together in his head, but once the person entered, he was grateful that he had agreed to see them. Absence had only made him realize how magnificent she was. Her priestess kimono was elegant on her nearly flawless and perfect figure. Her skin looked pale, but he could only believe it was that way from years of being inside of the shrine, and yet it looked gorgeous on her. Her hair was beautiful, flowing down past her shoulder blades all the way to her low back, which was accented by the fact that it was the most beautiful shade of black he had ever seen. In short, she was angelic.

He had come to find out that she was there to spread the word of her faith and it's philosophies, but after spending an evening with her (nothing dirty I might add), she told him that she wished to check back up on the young man she had tended to a few years ago. He had, for some reason, left an impression in her that they could be more acquainted and that they might be friendly. She stayed three more days before she said that she must leave and goodness, did Arashi ever panic. He had been choking on the words he wanted to say to the magnificent creature that was this shrine priestess and he figured that if he could not speak them then he would not have a chance at doing so ever again. It was with incredible difficulty that he had managed to tell her how beautiful he thought she was and that he felt he might be falling for her. She was surprised and flattered, but she did not know what to say to him. So she left him without returning his feelings the evening before she would leave. The morning of that dreaded day, however, when he had wrestled with the thought that he must find a way to make her stay, he got ready to leave and meet her at the gates for one last ditch effort. He didn't even make it past his front door, for at that very moment when he opened his door, he saw her standing there. An emotional scene ensued as she shed tears at her confusion but felt that she could not leave, not when she felt she had a chance to be happy outside of the shrine. She postponed her departure for one more day and that one day had been just enough time for him to convince her to stay - not just in Konoha, but with him...forever. His proposal and her acceptance had been met with mixed opinions from the outside but it had been a glorious day to many.

A few years after that, they had felt it was enough time and so they resolved to have a child. The baby boy born was given the name Naruto and Arashi had never felt more complete in his entire life. They could take away his title of Hokage if they felt like it and he wouldn't have cared. He had his family now and if they had a problem with it then they would just have to deal with it. Now, here he sat, and he silently hoped that he would be able to fend off the vengeful force known as Karma when that time came, for it always seemed to rear it's ugly head when you least expected it. His mind went temporarily to Naruto and he wondered how they might be doing. It was at this precise moment that, as he raised his favorite mug to his mouth, that it chipped. Arashi is not a superstitious man by any means, so he did not take this as anything more than an unfortunate coincidence. After shrugging it off, he continued to raise his mug to his lips when the handle snapped off and the contents of the cup spilled onto his lap, burning it to a great degree. He shouted his irate agitation at the 'useless' mug and tried to stand up to move towards the sink and get a washcloth to dry off his lap. He _tried_ was the key word, as the back leg of the chair broke and he fell backwards with an ungraceful landing. Frantically trying to scamper to his feet, he finally stood huffing and puffing, officially freaked out. _'Could this be a bad omen?'_ he thought to himself, when his pants fell down. (A/N: Blame 'Tenchi in Tokyo' for me writing this shameless skit in attempts of adding more humor)

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(Thirty minutes ago, somewhere in Fire Country)

Teams Seven and Eight were walking along in a position that better suited their purpose of protecting Lord Vule and his cargo. Their set-up resembled a triangle of sorts: Kiba was in front, keen sense of smell would be able to pick up foreign scents and be able to warn them of the possible threat. Then a few feet behind him were Sasuke and Naruto, their speed and reaction speed being necessary, walking across from each other in a straight line. Next row was Sakura on the left, Lord Vule in the middle, and Shino on the right. Slightly in front of Lord Vule was Hinata, her being in the middle of the formation being crucial as she would be able to see around everyone and out into the distance to see if any traps were set. Shino's bugs would also be able to assist them in the finding of any threat. Behind the third line of Sakura, Vule, and Shino, in between the spaces on the final row, were Kurenai and Yamato. They stood close to Vule, making sure he felt comfortable, since he seemed to be highly irritable all morning and very anxious - but not an anxious like how a child feels about leaving on a trip they have been looking forward to, it was more like an anxious like how you are nervous about doing something that you would rather avoid doing.

They had left early, at around 6:30-7:00 am, much to the chagrin of the young genin who wanted more sleep to rest their weary bodies. The hot springs had helped but there was also the issue of fatigue from chakra. Almost everyone was in danger of exhausting their chakra reserves since they not only used chakra to help assist them in moving but also used it to help their stamina. Kurenai knew they could simply use some of the soldier pills Kiba had with him for his techniques, for the pills would give them a seemingly endless amount of endurance for three days and they wouldn't need to worry about sleeping, eating, or resting to regain stamina. But this was a perfect test of their resolve.

Kurenai had been trained on how to pick up on strange behavior and misleading demeanors in the people around her. Vule was no exception. His words yesterday were of a man who had foreseen a grim fate in his near future and she wondered if he was more than just a lord. She wondered if this man might be a 'seer' or those who have the gift of sight towards the future. If he was, and he had foreseen such horrible circumstances that would require such agitated behavior, she hoped he would inform her and Yamato so that they could be expecting it. So if he was not a seer, then why would the man be fearful? Was it just intuition or something more? She had voiced her opinion on the matter with Yamato but he had said that they would just have to be more vigilant.

Hinata had been placed in the middle of everyone for the purpose of activating her byakugan every now and then and scanning the area for as far as her doujutsu would allow her for any traps or intruders. So far, she had not caught sight of anything. She hadn't used her eyes for around five minutes so she felt she should give another look around them. She activated her byakugan silently, looking around her and trying to ignore the glowing chakra signatures of those around her and tried to look through them to a distance away. The path in front of them looked to be clear so she turned her attention to take in the area around them, deeper into the wilderness. Now she was told that they might encounter resistance on this trip but she had never guessed that it would actually happen. But there they were, chakra signatures, hiding in the trees. She suddenly became aware of the growling of a dog and, deactivating her byakugan, saw that Kiba had stopped, effectively halting the entire group.

"Kiba, do you smell something?" Kurenai asked, already knowing the answer to that question. The white dog's fur was standing up on end as it stood up on Kiba's head. Kiba nodded in response, not using any words and knowing he wouldn't need to. "Hinata, did you see anything?"

"Hai. There are a small number of people in the trees to our right. I think I counted five but there might have been more." She quickly reactivated her byakugan to give another look. "There are five, I just made sure." She then deactivated it, wanting to save as much energy as possible in case a confrontation couldn't be avoided. They were speaking in a low tone the whole time so as to try and not alert the individuals in the trees, if they turned out to be hostile.

"Hinata, would you be able to inform us of any more details, like how strong they might be and where exactly they might be?" Yamato asked, his attention not on her but on trying to detect the presences. If he couldn't sense them until now, then they had either been hiding out in this area or they just weren't capable of being detected. That could mean two things in itself. It was either they were too weak to be detected or they were so skilled that they had been able to disguise their presence. If it was the latter then they might have some issues with these people. He had been trained to always be on guard, even if you did not know the true intentions of strangers, when on a mission of high importance. These men were classified as enemies until proven otherwise.

"They're moving in." announced Shino, who had remained the same quiet and stoic boy he was in the academy. Kurenai understood though how he knew if the enemy might be coming closer. It was because Shino had probably sent out his bugs to locate foreign chakra signatures and placed a scent bug on the men and if they moved, Shino would be able to tell.

"Are they coming straight for us?" she asked to Shino, panic evident in her voice. He nodded. "How quickly?"

"They will be on us within a minute if we do not do anything." answered the bug-user, as he seemed to maneuver his body so that he would be better prepared to defend himself.

Naruto, who had been listening to everything and processing the information in his mind, stepped out of his place in their formation and got in between Hinata and Sasuke. Falling into a fighting stance, he readied himself for a fight but waited to see these individuals before he made a move. It was almost a full minute - the minute that Shino had warned them they would have before the enemy would be on them - and Kiba's dog, Akamaru, was growling ferociously while shivering, it seemed. Naruto gulped, not liking the feel of the situation. Something was out of place here. Something was, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

A few seconds later, four men dropped out of the trees and seemed to stand in confident defiance of the shinobi of the leaf. Whether or not these men were shinobi at all was unknown but their confidence did lead one to believe that were probably either strong or they just didn't know who they were up against. A couple moments later, the fifth man dropped down. Unlike the four men previously, this one you could easily tell was a shinobi. The man stood to be at least around 6'3", possibly taller and he was built like a tank. He had no shirt on but he did wear what appeared to be the skin of a dead animal, probably a bear. His broad chest was well-toned and he seemed to have muscles coming out of muscles. His arms were large and looked like they might be able to punch through stone and Naruto felt that if this man was anywhere close to being as fast as he was strong, then they were definitely in for a hard time. His intimidating features were finished with a pair of stone grey pants that stopped at just below his knees, and his shoes were mountain boots with spikes on the toe end. Around the man's neck was a hitai-ite from what appeared to be Iwagakure with a slash going across it.

The men behind him wore black shirts with red lines that looked to be slashes from a clawed creature as they made an X pattern on the front. The pants they wore were the same stone grey as the man who appeared to be the leader. These lackies didn't look as intimidating as there leader but they still eminated that aura of confidence. Yamato stepped towards the leader and stood between him and the shinobi of the leaf.

"What business do you have here?" Yamato's voice was dangerous, as if inviting the bulky man to say the wrong thing. And Naruto honestly feared Yamato more than this brute. "Speak or I will be forced to treat you as hostile targets." Was it a threat? Could be. But it was more of a promise than anything else.

"Me?" the burly man asked sarcastically, pointing to himself in an over-exaggerated manner. "My name is Garrett, but my brothers know me as 'Stone Bear.' I am the leader of my rogues and we are here, simply put, to claim the merchandise in that man's possession." He pointed another strong finger towards Vule.

"Then it appears that we are at ends with each other. I am going to give you one chance to cease and desist before I and my partners take action against you and your men." Yamato's warning was clear cut and Naruto knew that they would more than likely be in a confrontation with these men. The big guy didn't look like he was going to step down anytime soon. In fact, he didn't show even the slightest bit that he was worried about having to face them.

"If that is what you want, fine. But I want you to go ahead and understand this. I was not the one who wanted to fight. I merely wanted the ruby but if I must fight in order to claim it, then so be it." The big brute known as Garrett then reached into a pouch that was secured on his belt around his waist and pulled out four small objects that looked alot like soldier pills. He tossed one to each man behind him and they caught it, devouring their pill greedily. "You guys take on the kids, they shouldn't be much of a problem. I'll take on their jounin."

The four men suddenly crouched into fighting stances and took out small swords. It was very noticeable what those pills were doing to them. Their chakra, which didn't seem all too noticeable, had suddenly spiked up to a dangerous level, rivaling that of a chuunin. Yamato didn't feel that it would be much of a problem though, for the genin, as long as they fought together. "Naruto, Sasuke, Hinata, you three take on the two on the right. Sakura, Shino, Kiba, you three take on the two on the left. Kurenai, if you will, leave this guy to me. I need someone dependable to watch over Vule-sama while we take on these guys, alright?" She didn't like it very much but she saw the wisdom in the decision. All those around him and behind him, nodded their heads. "Good...GO!"

In a blur, all the people there darted about as they engaged, in combat, the ones they were assigned to.

Sakura performed a quick set of hand seals and made five quick bunshins in an attempt to confuse the two men. One of them stepped up and swung at the illusions, cutting through them and making them disappear. Kiba then came flying out of nowhere, spinning at high velocity and coming straight at the one who stepped forward. The one jumped up and avoided his attack, the one behind him barely rolling out of the way. Kiba came to a quick stop, landing gingerly on his feet and pushed off, performing the same attack again, but this time aiming it at the one suspended in the air. Despite being strong, these guys were not very intelligent. The rogue on the ground suddenly thrusted his hand up into the air, aiming it at Kiba's spinning form. Kiba was knocked violently out of his attack and sent crashing towards the ground. Whatever hit him had really hurt. It felt like he was getting punched, at full force, by his sister. He landed on the ground and skidded to a halt on all fours, only to sense the presence of one of the rogues behind him. He didn't have enough time to get out of the way. _'Shit, I was careless'_ he thought through gritted teeth. But his dog was able to make up for Kiba's carelessness as it jumped at the man and bit him on the arm. The said opponent screamed in pain before Kiba swung violently at the man and struck him hard in the chest, sending the man careening into a tree with a sickening 'thud.'

Meanwhile, the other rogue, who just watched his partner get taken out, felt that he might be outclassed here, all of them. He was busy trying to attack Sakura but in vain. Everytime he thought he would hit her, she would disappear out of existence. He suddenly felt that he was being trapped to the ground. He looked at his feet and saw an abnormal black blob on his feet. This black blob was abnormal in the sense that it seemed to be alive. The trapped man then realized, with horror, that it was actually bugs. He looked around for the third member of his opponents' team and saw him standing a short distance away, with small, black, puddles just popping out of him. In a frantic effort, the trapped rogue thrusted his hand towards his feet and the bugs dispersed, an unhearable cry of agony being emitted by the tiny insects. Shino cringed as he heard his bugs cry out in pain and came to a realization. These men may not be a shinobi like there leader was, but they certainly did know how to use chakra as a quick weapon. Whenever he thrusted out his palm, the rogue was sending out a quick pulse of chakra.

The man approached the one he had seen the bugs coming from and sped up to be right in front of him. He stabbed the boy through the guy and felt satisfaction as the boy doubled over in what appeared to be an expression of pain. But oh horror of horrors, the person who he had stabbed who he thought was the boy exploded into a massive swarm of bugs that clamped onto him. He felt himself becoming weaker and weaker at an incredibly fast pace.

"You are defeated. My kikai insects are feeding off your chakra even as I speak. You will be drained in a matter of moments. Just relax and accept your defeat." The man in the mass of bugs tried to slash around for the voice, hoping to hit anything. But he was becoming weaker and weaker, and he felt himself become incredibly exhausted. He fell to the ground, unconscious, and then the bugs washed off of him and came back to their master. Sakura shuddered as she saw the bugs go back into the boy, still not being able to get used to that. Kiba then bounded up to them, carrying the body of the rogue he had defeated, dropping him unmercifully to the ground next to his partner.

"That was soooo easy." said Kiba with great confidence.

"Indeed, perhaps...too easy." responded the stoic Shino. Sakura knew that when Shino did speak, it was out of importance and if Shino felt that something was wrong, then she took it to heart. If this was too easy, then what did it mean?

On the other side of the battlefield, Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto had quickly and nearly effortlessly disposed of their opponents. Making quick use of his kage bunshins, Naruto sent them off as distractions. Once they engaged the two opposing rogues, the bunshins were quickly taken care of but the rogues were met by the very sudden numbing feeling as the succumbed to unconsciousness. Hinata had effortlessly walked behind the two men, as did Sasuke, and they used their hands to chop at the men's necks, sending them to slumberland. Naruto shook his head disappointedly as he walked up to his teammates. That was sad. These men were supposed to be good enough to take them out? Sure, they did have the chakra and the strength, but they had no skill; at least, there level of skill was nothing compared to Team Seven's. Naruto then turned to look at Yamato in the middle of a particularly ferocious battle with the muscle bound man. Despite the fact the lackies were weak, this man was something else. As Naruto continued to watch the bulky man fight, Garrett's chakra signature didn't seem to weaken. Instead, it became stronger and stronger and Garrett kept getting faster and faster.

Yamato was struggling, to say the least. We was used to facing strong opponents but this guy was something else. Whenever he did manage to land a punch, Garrett would just shrug it off and continue his assault. Yamato had a definite edge in speed but the man's taijutsu abilities were phenomenal despite his massive size. Yamato just shrugged that bit off though, he knew that in a one-on-one battle, he would win in the end with his ninjutsu. That was why he was captain of the ANBU in face of Itachi. He leaped away from a particularly massive swing from the man that ended with him making a mini-crater in the ground. _'This guy is going to kill me if I let him land even one punch.' _He performed a quick set of handseals and thrusted his hand into the ground. "Mokuton: Ensnare." Vines quickly gathered from underneath Garrett's legs and started squeeze tightly. He was trapped and Yamato now ceized his opportunity. Six handseals and another thrusting of open-palm into the ground later, he shouted out a particularly vicious attack but this man was beyond dangerous. "Mokuton: Cascade of Splinters."

The attack sounded puny, as a regular person who would hear this attack and think that the splinters the technique was calling for would be those little, itty-bitty chips of wood that would insert just under your skin. What actually happened was twisted and grotesque in comparison to the former thought. After calling his technique, he rose his palm up that had been on the ground. With it's motion upwards came a pretty large root from a tree that seemed to not exist, even though there were trees everywhere around them. (A/N: Explanation of this description of the root comes later.) The thick and large root was being held by the glowing left hand of Yamato. His right hand suddenly began to glow as well and he thrusted it, open-palmed, into the root. The root seemed to explode in a mass of wooden projectiles ranging from half a foot to a full foot in length and from half an inch to a full inch in width. The 'splinters' were all aimed at the broad and defenseless man and embedded themselves in him. More than a dozen acupuncture-like wounds were inflicted and the cruel sight was almost enough to bring the contents of the young kunoichi's stomachs up to their throats. Even Naruto and Kiba shuddered. The frightening thing though was the fact the man did not go down.

Garrett just looked up at Yamato with a twisted smile on his face. His devilish grin chilled Yamato to the core and he started to think to himself why this man was so powerful. He took in the more unnoticeable things and tried to think back on his knowledge. _'A man known as Garrett, the leader of a group of rogues, a renegade nin from Iwagakure, massive size, with incredible endurance...oh my god. He couldn't be!'_ But he knew he was right. This man was the infamous 'Juggernaut of Rock Country.' A rebel ninja who's unorthodox methods to fighting led him to be revered but he was deemed not sane after he killed his own teammates in the heat of a battle and didn't even bat an eyelash in guilt. _'Good god, why do I have to have the unfortunate coincidence of having to encounter this man here and now?'_ The injustice of the matter was enough to almost make him laugh at the irony. He was made into the jounin instructor for Team Seven to teach them how to deal with situations like this and now here he was and he didn't know how to deal with the situation.

Everybody watched with wide-eyed awe (or horror) as the man seemed to chuckle sadistically, even with all the wooden protrusions coming from his epidermis. "You bastard, you actually made me bleed." Garrett then tensed his muscles, showing off their gross size, and began to strain himself. Yamato shuddered as he felt the chakra in his body begin to build and then he was even more shocked when the man suddenly went rigid while standing, tensing every muscle and pushing his chakra forth in such a way that not only were the vines around his feet destroyed but also the projectiles were forced out of his body. Yamato grimaced in pain as he was pierced by one of the splinters, even though he made a move to avoid them. Now with an injured shoulder, his chances of defeating this goliath was drastically reduced.

"What the hell!" shouted the monstrous man. Yamato tried to pay close attention and then caught something out of the corner of his eyes. Aburame Shino, the bug-user on Team Eight, was sending out wave after wave of bugs that were attaching themselves to Garrett. These bugs, which he remembered Kurenai telling him were kikai bugs that could sap chakra, were a welcome blessing. If they could the man distracted while the bugs feasted on him, then victory might be plausible. "You really think these bugs will stop me!" Garrett then seemed to burst chakra from his back, effectively knocking the bugs off of his back.

"Impressive, you can release chakra from certain areas of your body to repel my bugs. That won't work forever though and eventually you will exhaust before my bugs will. They will only become hungrier." Garrett just smiled at him.

"If you think you can defeat all by your puny self, then bring it on little man." He then stomped his foot into the ground, which seemed to be the reason for a layer of earth to rise up and surround him in a shell. The bugs tried to get through but they couldn't, there wasn't a single fault in the structure that would allow them access. Out of nowhere, the brute jumped out from the ground and grabbed the boy by the neck. Kiba shouted in panic and began to perform that technique again. "GAROUGA!" This time he was coming at the man like a bullet, spinning and moving a lot faster than he ever had. Unfortunately, he didn't get much out of the attack, as Garrett just used his other free hand to stop the boy in mid-spin. After the spinning motion stopped, Kiba was seen with his head in the massive hand of Garrett, with a look of terror in his eyes. Sakura suddenly rushed the man, not wanting to see her teammates get hurt and tried to attack him. Before Yamato or anyone else could react, Garrett - who sensed the girl coming, despite not seeing her - thrusted a large leg out and caught her right in the gut.

She went careening through the air towards a tree where she would probably have met a grim fate, had it not been for the boy of her dreams becoming her knight in shining armor. He caught her roughly, applying chakra to his feet so that it would act as a brake. After finally stopping he checked on her.

"You okay, Sakura?" She blushed when she saw that it was Sasuke who saved her and nodded weakly.

"Yeah, I am." But she grimaced in pain and coughed up some blood. "No...I'm not." she said defeatedly. She was still weak and, worse yet, the boy she wanted to impress was here to witness her getting embarrassed.

"Don't worry about it. Just stay here. We'll try to do something to save your teammates." He had spoken with such conviction that she couldn't help but believe him.

"If this is the best Konoha has to offer, then your village has become very weak." The statement made by Garrett was so obnoxious that it struck a cord in Naruto. He wanted nothing more than to beat this guy into a bloody pulp but he realized, after seeing his sensei struggle and witnessing team Eight pretty much get taken down with little effort, that he would not be able to do anything. **He** couldn't do anything, because this man, Garrett, was built like a tank and could probably easily withstand a great deal of physical pain. But usually, when one strengthens their outer-self, their inner-system is very vulnerable. That's right, Hinata was their only hope. Naruto could only hope that Hinata would take the initiative. While Shino, Kiba, and Sakura were being soundly defeated, he went and came up with a good plan and told Sasuke and Hinata. They agreed and if he was correct, then everything would work out. The biggest problem would be getting Shino and Kiba away so they couldn't be used as shields. A slight moment later, it seemed that Naruto's fears were put to rest.

Shino, who was in the grasp of Garrett, only chuckled in arrogance. "What is so amusing, brat?" spat the man, irate at the audacity of this whelp.

"Just as your men had before you, you have fallen prey to one of my clan's most useful of techniques." Garrett's eyes widened as the boy he was holding exploded into a massive cloud of bugs. They all poured onto the gargantuan man and started to leach as much chakra as they could as quickly as they could. Kiba, using the man's surprise, got the hell away from him. Shino dropped from a tree, straightening his glasses in a confident gesture. "A true master of my arts would not carelessly leave myself open like that. I had thought two moves ahead of you and you never noticed it. You can try and get rid of my bugs that are on you, but you can not get rid of the bugs that had slowly but surely made their way into your chakra coils."

Garrett's eyes widened in shock, he was being defeated by genin. Not only defeated, but outsmarted. He had planned to at least take them down if he could before these damn bugs could sap all his chakra but before he could make his move, one the genin - the blonde haired boy - shouted an order to everyone, it seemed.

"Hey Shino, when I tell you to, move your bugs out of the way of his torso." Naruto waited, building up chakra into his fist. He needed this to be timed perfectly. Yamato watched in awe as the young genin who he had been fearful for were turning the tide of the battle and looked to Kurenai, who looked like she was a proud mother.

Garrett had enough and started to shove his chakra around to try and get the bugs off but his chakra control seemed to not want to behave properly. If he didn't do something then he was going to lose. Him. Garrett, the Stone Bear. But before he could resolve himself to make a counterattack, the blonde brat had issued his command.

"Shino, NOW!" The bugs seemed to compact together on his arms, neck, shoulders, and legs, leaving his entire torso exposed. "Now Hinata!" Garrett became horrified when he felt the young kunoichi's presence approaching him rapidly. He turned to see her stop and drop into a fighting stance, her eyes having odd veins coming from the sides and her pupils being pure white. _'A Hyuuga? Oh shit!'_ A quick palm thrust to his right side of his ribs made him reel in agony. She was attacking his internal organs with deadly precision. He swung for her but missed as she spun around gracefully, avoiding his blow and landing another blow to his left lung. He coughed in agony, his breathing becoming painful. He had to act...and he needed help.

He jumped back before she could land the final blow to his heart but when he landed from his jump, he saw the blonde boy run at him at full speed, his right hand clenched into a fist and glowing with blue chakra.

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Over on the sidelines, Kurenai watched with impressed awe as she saw the once, seemingly invincible man, Garrett, succumbing to her and Yamato's teams. Six genin were defeating a Jounin who looked to be possibly stronger than her or Yamato. It might have been overconfidence on Garrett's part or just dumb luck, but they were going to be able to escape here without Vule's life being threatened.

Speaking of the man, upon seeing Hinata land the blows to the midsection of Garrett, Vule started to shake his head in disappointment. He then mumbled something that sounded like "I guess it couldn't be helped." He began to stand up, which caused Kurenai to stand with him, unsure of what the man's intentions were. He looked at her, smiled regrettably, and placed his hand on her chest, just above her breasts. Kurenai became a little red at the contact and looked at him with questioning eyes.

"I'm sorry Yuuhi Kurenai, but you and your teammates have left me with no other choice." Kurenai's eyes widened in shock and before she could react, a pulse of chakra was emitted from the hand on her chest, which propelled her towards a tree where her head smacked against it mercilessly and she fell in blissful unconsciousness.

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BUAHAHAHA! My first-ever cliff hanger. Even I think I'm evil for doing this. So yeah, this chapter wasn't as long as you are probably used to but I thought this was a good stopping place. Wasn't it? muahahahha...anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter since I really enjoyed writing it and I'm pretty sure that if everything works out, I will have the next chapter up before the end of the weekend.

As before, if you have any questions or are confused about something, then ask. I will try to answer or respond but I do not want to tell you anything that might ruin the future of the story. As for a preview, since I know I will have it out soon, you do not get a preview. MUAHAHAHAHA (But that's just cruel isn't it. The next chapter, you will find out about the true intentions of Lord Vule) Until next time, hope you return to read the next installment.


	9. Chapter 9

Welcome back, ladies and gents, to another thrilling installment. This chapter took me a long while to write, mainly because I had to trash my original idea. But once I thought it all through, I think I did a much better job with this version. Alot of parts of this chapter I was a bit iffy about but damn, did this ever turn out to be different than my first idea and I think it turned out for the better. I _hope_ you enjoy it because it sure as hell ended up being a pain to write this, since I just didn't seem to know how to tackle certain situations. Once more, I must thank you all for your reviews, they have been excellent and did help me in writing this chapter and getting it out here. One little note, I hope that my last two chapters have not been seen as bashing on other characters. I have no issues with Sakura, Kiba, Shino, or Sasuke.

Chapter Nine - The True Strength of a Shinobi

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Naruto was about to land his blow to the man's face, just a few mere inches away, until a shockwave of chakra knocked him off balance, where he was then left to be claimed victim to the monstrous strength and pent-up aggression of Garrett. Naruto was sent sailing through the air but was caught gently by a tree's foliage. He recognized the tree as the tree that Yamato had grown on their first day during their skill assessment. He looked towards his sensei and his eyes seemed to say "thank you." Yamato nodded and then looked in the direction of the chakra pulse. He saw Kurenai limp against a tree and then looked for where Vule could possibly be. Of all things, the man was approaching Garrett. _'You have got to be kidding me!'_

"What the hell took you so long?" asked Garrett irritably, agitated from having his ass kicked by genin.

"I thought you could handle them all by yourself. You were doing well, but I guess I needed to step in after all." responded Vule, reaching out and touching Garrett's shoulder and sending out a wave of chakra that surrounded Garrett and started burning all the bugs on his skin. "Allow this chakra to go through your inner chakra system. It should destroy the bugs inside you as well." Garrett relaxed as much as he could, eager to have his chakra control back to normal. After a few moments, Vule pulled away and Garrett felt like he was back to normal. He didn't have his chakra replenished but what he did have would be enough for what was probably gonna happen. "Your men were pathetic, by the way."

"Yeah, well, we did not realize that we were going to be up against shinobi from a hidden village. That was not part of the original agreement." Garrett's words were back to being dangerous and malicious.

"Yeah, well, I did not ask for shinobi to escort me. The Yondaime so graciously offered them. Poor fool, he has no idea that he sent lambs to the slaughter." Naruto audibly gulped. He wanted to say many things, that this Vule-guy was such an asshole for misleading him, that he was a traitor, that he was a dick, a son of a bitch, oh many splendid, graphic, verbal blasts, but he also wanted to defend his father's judgment. However, in the face of these two men, he realized that they were probably outclassed...all of them. Yamato was injured, as was Sakura, Kurenai was unconscious, and that left a healthy Sasuke, Kiba, Shino, Hinata, and Naruto. Things were definitely not going well for them. If a plan wasn't constructed then they were going to get defeated, or worse, killed.

Naruto had wanted nothing more, in his wildest fantasies, than to be in a situation similar to this one. The odds stacked against him, his opponents looking to be stronger than him, and his teammates in need of his assistance. The classic young boy fantasy of being the hero. Now, he was faced with that opportunity and he was scared out of his mind. This wasn't natural, who they were going up against. Garrett had been an incredible foe by himself - especially since his so-called 'skilled' rogues were nothing compared to him - and now add to the mix this guy, Lord Vule, who didn't even appear to be menacing, not in the least. However, something had changed between last night and right now, because this man, upon close inspection, looked as if he were glowing. The glow was unnerving too, for it seemed to be composed of nothing but chakra. _'But how is that possible? I mean, I may not have the Byakugan and I may not have the advanced ability to sense my opponent's power and strength, but even I knew that when we met this man yesterday he didn't have anywhere near this level of power.'_

Yamato was busy trying to think of a strategy. Unlike Naruto, Yamato had a grasp of why this man could suddenly go from appearing normal to being borderline upper-rank Jounin level in power. But he needed to gather his thoughts on the task at hand. No longer did they have to protect Lord Vule but now it was very important that they get the Firaga Ruby away from him. While this thought was going through his mind, he remembered one of the things Kakashi always told him that was the copy-nin's greatest regret. _'My biggest regret was that I did not do more for my own team, back in the day.'_ Kakashi had always stressed, since that fateful day, that even though the shinobi code of conduct states that a mission's success must come first and foremost, the team of the shinobi must take all priority in the face of grim circumstances. Looking at their situation, Yamato realized that the success of this mission to bring the ruby back to Konoha would have an end result of the death of one or more of the young genin. They had to make a tactical retreat and then discuss how to approach this matter. That is, if these men would allow them to retreat. He needed to know their intentions and he needed to stall for time.

"Well, it appears that we were misled by you, Lord Vule." The man being spoken to turned in Yamato's direction. His face held no emotion, as if he seemed to be sad over this. "If I may ask, then why are you doing this? What could you possibly want?"

The man being interrogated then decided to smile, his confidence shining across his features. "I guess it is about time I dropped this guise." With that, he brought his right hand up to the front of his face, extending his index and middle fingers while keeping them together, giving the look of someone dividing their face into two segments. "Kai" spoke the man in a low voice. Suddenly, his body began to glow light blue and then shined in a bright white light, blinding those who tried to look at him.

When the brightness dimmed, the man who once stood there was gone. Now in his place was a younger looking male. He had the same style of hair, but it was shorter, only reaching his shoulders, but it seemed to hang all around the back of his head as the hair covered his ears and much of the sides of the man's face. The color was no longer salt-and-pepper but was a cherry-oak brownish color. His features were younger as well, no longer having weary wrinkles from age. The formal kimono was replaced by a cape, which exposed his chest. He wore a fishnet shirt over a black long-sleeve shirt which tucked into his pants, which were also black and went down to his ankles and the image was completed by the standard shinobi sandals. The most noticeable thing about him, despite the fact that he had just changed from an elderly, regal-looking man to a younger man who looked as if he were a shinobi, was his hitai-ite. It was tied around the collar of the cape and it was evident who he was. With a slash through the symbol of Konoha, this man was a rogue nin from Hidden Leaf.

"There, is that better? Now you can see the truth, that the man known as Lord Vule has been dead for quite a while now. It was surprisingly simple too. Those buffoons in that town had no idea. But then again, it did help that I had done my homework on the area and on the politics of the town. When the knowledge came to me that that idiot of a lord had the Firaga Ruby in his possession, I knew that there was only one option for me. And that was to take it. Two years of nothing but studying the politics and mannerisms of the lord in secrecy and when I felt the time was right, it was a simple matter for a shinobi of my level to infiltrate their building, slay Vule, hide the body, and then use a genjutsu to mimic his looks and voice."

Yamato was speechless. This man, who was once a nin of Konoha, had just confessed to doing a most heinous of crimes. Did he not regret his actions at all? Or was he as much a lost cause as others like the behemoth he seemed to be teamed with? "So you're saying that you murdered an innocent man just to get that ruby? What is your purpose for wanting the ruby? Do you want to sell it and then hope to go into hiding with a fortune of money?" The young shinobi just laughed, but it wasn't like Garrett's or any of his mens' laugh from earlier. This one was a whole-hearted, sincere laugh.

"You are truly naive, you know that? Think, my friend, think. Why would I want to sell this object to get a large sum of money when I had access to the bank account of a wealthy lord? Don't get me wrong, it's not that I wasn't concerned with my monetary situation but I have already taken that into account. I have already had a good portion of funds transferred into a discreet account of a bank in a small village in Rock Country. To ensure that no one became suspicious of the transfer of funds, I made sure to leave enough in the lord's account. It would seem suspicious for the lord, who had gone on his pilgrimage to Konoha to deliver the Firaga Ruby for the Festival of Fire, to have suddenly transferred out all of his money into an anonymous account like that." His gaze had gone back to being one of impassiveness, but he was still glowing with confidence. His eyes looked dangerous and Garrett, who had been quite patient so far, started to stretch and flex to get himself ready for action.

Yamato needed more time, he still didn't know whether or not this man would be opposed to the idea of letting them retreat. But instead of him having to ask a question, the man continued, as if he were proud of his elaborate plan. And it was elaborate. Yamato was, to say the least, impressed. Despite how he may not like what this man had done and how he went about doing it, the detail and effort that had gone into this plan of his was almost perfect. If not for the Yondaime's intuition then he might have gotten away with it.

"Your Hokage just had to send his own people though. That man truly doesn't know when to mind his own business. Just because he is the designated head of power in this country doesn't mean he should just throw his weight around and send out his own shinobi as assistance. So if you are going to be upset with anybody about this predicament, be upset with your Hokage. He is the one who sent you to your doom."

"So are you saying that you are so ruthless that you wouldn't allow these children to leave? They just do as they are told by their superiors. If you want to bring anyone to their 'doom' then let it be me, but I only ask that in return, you let the genin go." All the genin seemed to react to that. Naruto was shouting, as was Kiba, about how stupid that idea was. Hinata almost had tears in her eyes, as the feel of the situation finally seemed to settle in. Shino even tensed up, though he didn't show any sort of emotional reaction. Sasuke hung his head low, afraid to let anyone see how uncomfortable he was about this while Sakura was struggling to keep herself from shouting because her midsection still hurt like hell.

Garrett looked to his 'partner-in-crime' with an incredulous look on his face. "You aren't actually considering this, are you Vega? They'll report back to their Hokage and then they will send a task force of even stronger foes after us."

The man now known as Vega, just chuckled. "I gave it a good thought. The death of such young life seems like such a waste, but that is what they got themselves into when they decided to be shinobi. Besides, not many shinobi in that village frighten me in my current condition. As long as I have the Firaga Ruby, the only ones I would have to fear are that damn Hokage, his sensei, the copy-nin, or that prodigy from Uchiha, Itachi." Sasuke flinched upon hearing his brother's name mentioned in such high respects. Was he invisible to everyone?

Yamato looked upon the nin, who he now knew the name of, and was in shock. This was a missing nin from Konoha indeed, but he was not what the reports said of him. Vega was supposedly a high D-rank, possibly low C-rank, rebel nin. Then why did he only fear those four men that he mentioned? Did it have something to do with the reason of why this man didn't want to sell the ruby?

"You seem to think highly of yourself, despite your D-rank classification. What makes you think you are strong enough to fight us off?" Once again, Vega laughed at him, but this time it was derisively.

"You really are ignorant aren't you? Do you not understand? Do you not feel it? While you were spending your time with Garrett here, I was busy prepping the Firaga Ruby. What you obviously don't understand about this stone is that it holds power that can turn a genin into a formiddable jounin, a jounin into a kage, and a kage into a god. As long as one knows how to use it, this stone will give the user all the power they could ever ask for. As I was impersonating Lord Vule, I studied the ruby and the way it's power works and I came to a realization. This stone will give me more than enough power to make it out of Fire Country without too much difficulty and from there, I will go to Rock Country and wait patiently for the opportunity to arise for me to take their stone. With two of them in my possession, not even your precious Yondaime could stop me." As he listened to Vega's plan, he realized that if Vega did know how to call upon the almost demonic power dwelling inside the ruby then this was near impossible. Their only hope would be to try and get the ruby away from Vega. Yamato stood up, looked dangerously towards the two men, and made a decision.

"Shino, I am placing you in charge for now. You will guide the others away from this area. Naruto and Kiba, help Kurenai and get her out of here. Sasuke, you help Sakura. Hinata, I need you to be their lookout. Don't you all dare think about coming back." They all listened, digesting the information, and wanted to protest, but his face was of a stone-cold determination.

"As if I'd allow something like that to occur in my presence. You all could summon the Hokage and his forces before I could get out of Fire Country and I just can't let that happen." All the genin became worried at the words. These men had full intentions of killing them.

"You wouldn't...even if you have renounced your citizenship to Konoha, you wouldn't kill these children, would you?" Inwardly, the genin grimaced at the label Yamato was placing on them. It was true, they didn't want to die, but they didn't want to be treated like little kids either. Not sure of what they should do, they stood there, dumbfounded. Nothing of their training had planned them for an event like this. No one had told them (or maybe they did and the genin didn't really pay it much mind) that it might be possible for their client to betray them. Vule/Vega wasn't really their client, but they were assigned to protect him and now he had turned out to be an enemy in disguise.

Dumbfounded may be saying it lightly though. The young shinobi were just being dumb at this point. They hadn't made a move and were seemingly afraid to without the consent of their leader. Add to that was the fact that they had all tried and used just about everything they could to take down Garrett (and he still wasn't defeated), and now they had to deal with someone who acted as though he was the leader between the two. That was sending off awkward bells in their brains because the rule in teams is that it is usually either the wisest or the strongest who is assigned the leadership role. In the assigned teams of Konoha, three genin were paired with a jounin instructor who was skilled and strong. Taking that thought into account, a proper analysis of this situation could lead to two possible scenarios.

The scenarios that had been thought of had the little stipulation that Vega was indeed the leader between the two. The first option was that Vega was the leader because he was smarter and more intelligent than Garrett. That was probably the truth in this case because of the complex and well-thought-of plan; plus, the big guy just seemed to be nothing but hired muscle to be used as the brawn between them. But that was a stereo-type that shouldn't really exist in the shinobi world. Just because someone appeared to be big and muscular did not mean that they were an idiot with no intelligence whatsoever. So that led to the second option, which was the most likely (and frightening) of the two. Vega was the leader because he was the strongest. If that stone in his arm had the power that he bragged about then this would go double right now. He had tremendous power from an arcane artifact and that was quite intimidating.

"I'm sorry if this is upsetting to you, but quite frankly, they made their choice when they chose to become shinobi of the Leaf. Life and death situations occur on a regular basis, they should know this. They are not innocent by any standards." His cold gaze grazed across them as he took each of them into account. Garrett was becoming very agitated by now.

"Are we going to or not, because this is seriously boring me." Garrett and Vega looked at each other and the large man seemed to become calm under the gaze, as if forced.

"Impatient are we?" He then rubbed his chin thoughtfully before he continued. "Yes, go ahead. And make sure they are dead too." Garrett turned back and grinned sadistically at them. Licking his lips, he counted off which ones were left and who he was going to get. It appeared that Vega knew what Garrett was trying to think of and answered his silent question. "As long as we keep them here, any of them are fair game. But leave this one to me," he said looking at Yamato, "he is mine. Just be careful of the girl with white eyes." Garrett nodded and leapt towards the group of Genin, namely Shino.

Shino started to run away but was caught by a pulse of chakra that knocked him off balance. Sakura, who was still not able to stand yet, figured that this man must have been the one to teach his minions how to fire their chakra like that. Shino went skidding across the ground and became very aware that even though his bugs had sucked away a great deal of the man's chakra, he still had a large amount left. The problem with that was that his bugs were all full - every single one of them. If he made them feed anymore then they would either become engorged and useless or engorged and die. He was backed up against a tree with Garrett charging him but was saved by Kiba, who's garouga attack was a lot more effective this time. The attack hit him in his left side, and knocked him off balance and he started to favor that side of his body. The damage to his lungs from Hinata's earlier attacks left his breathing laboured but he would not be shown up. Not against these brats.

Kiba, who had just landed from his attack, turned to Garrett, ready to perform the technique again when all of a sudden, he realized that something wasn't right. Everyone felt it too, not just him. Garrett had had enough and he was taking a great deal of his remaining reserves in preparation for his ultimate attack. "Let's see how you all like this." Eight handseals later, the man started to charge his chakra in-between his hands. Hinata could see that the chakra was too malevolent and if nothing was done, then this attack would have catastrophic implications on their odds of winning the battle. She rushed in, aiming a palm strike straight for his heart, but he saw her coming and kicked out at her, striking her right in the chest. She went sailing but was caught by Naruto.

"You okay, Hinata?" She nodded weakly, wincing in pain. "Good. Don't worry Hinata, we'll get out of this somehow." He was doing it again without realizing it. To him, it sounded as if he were just saying something to not get down a friend's confidence. To Hinata, it was something completely different. She was reminded of her conversation with Sakura and Kurenai yesterday in the hot springs about how he always seemed to be looking out for her. _'I'm not a child, I'm a kunoichi. I need to stand up, not just against this man, but also for myself. Now!'_ She began to get up but her thoughts were ripped from her as she realized that they were all not doing a thing about Garrett and his attack. If Naruto had just not focused on protecting her, he might have been able to disrupt the process, but it was too late.

"Hah hah hah hah! You may be fine now, kiddies, but you won't be for long!" he bellowed as he took the chakra that had been forming in between his palms and forced them to re-merge with his hands. The power seemed to magnify in this process and he brought them up over his head together, in the position for how you would expect someone to strike you with a double handed hammer blow. "This is for earlier, bitch." His comment and death glare aimed at Hinata, she shuddered under his heavy presence full of murderous intent.

Yamato, who had felt the attack beginning and now hearing the cry issued before the attack was used, he made an attempt to stop Garrett. Vega, his opponent, had effortlessly blocked everything so far. Every attack just seemed to bounce off a shield made of chakra from the Firaga Ruby and every attack Vega made against him was not a taijutsu attack or a ninjutsu attack (taking into consideration that ninjutsu usually involves handseals). Instead, he would move his hand over the ruby and seem to grasp the chakra radiating from it and fire it at him in semi-concentrated blasts of fire-empowered chakra. The flames incinerated his roots and left Yamato severely outclassed. All of his strong, devastating attacks were of the wood element and if they would just be burned up by this man's chakra attacks and shield then he was utterly useless.

Focusing his attention now on Garrett, he tried to use a technique that would hopefully knock the man down or disrupt him enough to stop the attack from being completed but it was not to be. Vega just kept firing out the blasts of fire, keeping Yamato on his toes. _'Oh Kami, no.'_ he thought to himself in despair as Garrett's technique was about to be unleashed.

Garrett slid into a stance and brought his hands from above him to behind him and swinging his fists low to the ground (A/N: imagine a baseball player swinging the bat) and shouted his technique. "Doton: Hyper Gaia fracture!" Upon making impact with the ground, the chakra in his hands disappeared and a small crater formed where he struck. That wasn't the most curious thing though. The small crater now had a fault line that seemed to weave about on the ground and was aiming towards Hinata and Naruto. The crack in the ground seemed to have a light shining through it and Naruto realized that this thing was going to have major consequences. He turned around, grabbing Hinata and pulling her in front of him and away from the attack so that he would act as a shield. He then jumped away, Hinata doing the same, but Garrett's voice once again broke through and shattered his thought process.

"It's too late. That attack already has a predestined focal point. You can't hope to escape." Everyone looked on in dumb-struck awe, especially Sasuke. He had been caught off guard, watching Yamato's fight with Vega, trying to see if he could help, or that was what he would tell anyone who asked him why he wasn't assisting the others with Garrett. The truth was was that ever since he found out that his chakra favors the fire element, he had been pressuring his father to teach him more katon jutsus but he wouldn't. Now, seeing Vega using fire elemental attacks, he had his Sharingan activated and was watching the man in hopes of learning and memorizing the handseals for a wicked fire technique that he himself could use. Now he saw that that was not going to be the case since Vega seemed to do nothing but hurl flame-infused chakra at Yamato. Turning around, he watched in grim anticipation for the outcome of this technique.

Once the fault line had reached the focal point that Garrett had mentioned, the technique seemed to become magnificently horrible in standards of devastating effects. It caused the earth to erupt and a powerful wave of chakra to wash over the earth, making it come undone. The earthquake and tremors that ensued had effectively destroyed any hopes of using nearby trees as cover since they were being toppled down and all the genin were knocked off their feet with incredible force, the chakra surge hitting them feeling like they were being punched in the solar plexus. Hinata and Naruto, despite not being on the ground to receive the brunt of the attack's quake, felt the true power of the technique. The worst part about their predicament was that if they had stayed on the ground, they might have fared better but being suspended in the air, they were vulnerable. The wave of chakra that caused the earth to quake and come undone was also flowing, with incredible strength, through the air and the force would certainly make them regret their decision.

As the wave washed through the air, it caught up to Naruto and Hinata. They were still in the same position but Hinata knew about the wave of chakra behind them and what it might be capable of doing to them. She thought back to how Naruto always seemed to look out for her and she decided to do something about this. Right now. She pivoted, in mid-air, grabbing Naruto and switching their positions. She would now take the brunt of the force while Naruto would be shielded for the most part. Naruto, not being an idiot, noticed the change in positions and looked at Hinata in confusion mixed with fear. She had a look of pure determination, as if saying 'This time, I protect you.' "NO HINATA!" he shouted but before he could grab her to push her out of the way, the force of the surge hit them. Naruto went sailing straight for a tree that would probably break his back if he hit it at this speed. He summoned his chakra and gathered the winds from his 'siphon' technique and pushed the chakra towards his feet. From this point on, he knew it would take a miracle to save Hinata...but a miracle was not what he could muster.

As he waited to kick off the tree he was rapidly approaching, he watched, pained to the point he swore he could feel it, as Hinata was driven into the ground. She had landed on the ground with tremendous force as her head bounced off the ground with a sickening thud. It wasn't just her head that bounced, but her whole body, the force of her descent and the collision with the ground so great, it caused her to keep moving, even after the first impact. As she went to fall to the ground again, Naruto seized the opportunity and, finally reaching the tree, used his chakra to propel himself towards her body. Only with a great amount of luck was he able to get underneath her just before she impacted with the ground for a second time. Cradling the limp form of his best friend, Naruto showed a side of him that anybody rarely ever saw. His emotional side. And it was such a powerful feeling that probably even Shino felt the anguish coming from Naruto.

As he held her, he positioned himself so that her upper body was being supported. He rocked her with his body as silent tears fell from his face. With most other people in this situation - and even Naruto himself felt that he should be doing so - they would normally see a friend get injured and be spurred to be stronger and get up and attack the attacker with all their fury. But now, with his best friend, who could be dead, he did the one thing that was seemingly forbidden by all shinobi. It was considered a taboo of the code of conduct from a shinobi on a mission.

"Under no circumstances should a shinobi/kunoichi show their emotions. The mission is the most important thing to a ninja and it's success must outrank any feelings you have or may possess about the events that occur during the mission." It had been beaten into his brain from the first year at the academy and on, the rules from that handbook for all ninja-hopefuls. So why did it hurt so much? Why did this hurt so much if he was taught that emotions were the taboo? He was becoming distraught and his speech was showing the evidence too.

"Hi-Hinata...wake up...you're fine...you may be hurt but you're fine right? Please...wake up..." He looked at her through tear-filled eyes and saw the terrible shadow of truth that seemed to be dawning on him. "No...no, no, no, no, no...this can't be happening...you can't be...please...don't...don't tell me this is happening." He then buried his head into her shoulder and hair. Images of them flashed through his mind like a blur...but all were so recognizeable.

When he first saw her at the stream, the time he saw her when it was his ninth birthday, the way she put the healing medicine on his burned palms, hearing the news that she would attend the academy with him, their first day at the academy, their time together during her ninth birthday and all the birthdays up until now. He had sometimes thought of it as annoying how she would hang around with him all the time, they would sometimes argue like most friends do, they would even get mad at each other during their more childish arguments, but one thing always held true. They couldn't stand to be away from each other. She was his friend and he was her's, and even through all the clever masks, all the hidden emotion, all the disguised mannerisms, he was willing to admit to one thing at this moment. She had always made him happy just being there and being his friend through everything. He spoke to her, although it was inaudible to those around him, "You can't leave...you can't leave me."

Everything was becoming a blur to him, he noticed. His mind was becoming cloudy and fuzzy and all he knew anymore was that his friend was hurt.

Vega, whose fight was seemingly post-poned on the account that Yamato seemed to be malfunctioning in the face of the injured child that he could not help, was becoming increasingly more agitated by not only Yamato's sentimentality but also Garrett's inability to finish the job. He flicked his wrist over the ruby, charging the chakra, and fired a blast right at Naruto and Hinata. Yamato couldn't react quickly enough so he did the only thing he could do. "NARUTO, WATCH OUT!" He feared that Naruto wouldn't react in time and that he was going to have two lives on his hands.

Little did Yamato know was that his voice would only be muffled by the haziness in Naruto's head as he attacked his emotions and struggled to come to grips with his situation and Hinata's predicament. The muffled voice, however, did catch his attention and Naruto turned to look at the blast and time seemed to freeze at that moment. During this time, Naruto's mind went into overload and thousands of things came to his mind. As things were being organized, his thought process focused on one thing - a conversation that he had had with his father over six years ago. This conversation, which had seemingly been forgotten over the years, was brought forth, and shed a whole new light on Naruto.

(Flashback)

Naruto leaped once again to try and hit his father in the face but was knocked away. On the ground now, Naruto couldn't muster the energy to stand anymore. He laid on the ground, defeated, and gasping for air. The training session had been particularly rough and Naruto was more exhausted now than he had been his entire life. His father called it quits for that day and just sat down next to him, looking at the sky.

"Why can't I become strong, father? I try as hard as I can but I always seem to just stumble." His father just laughed before looking at him.

"Naruto, you can't expect to have drastic results like the ones you have invisioned. No one becomes strong without years of effort." Naruto grumbled as he heard his words but his childish curiosity had had his father pegged for the supreme ninja. So when his father said that, it made him curious.

"Even you, dad?"

"Why yes, even me." Naruto's jaw dropped.

"But you're the Hokage!"

"Yes, yes I am. But I wasn't always the Hokage, Naruto. I had to work for this position. It is a title given to only the ninja deemed worthy to protect his village. That ninja must be strong enough to defend his people when the time comes." Naruto smiled a bit arrogantly.

"Well then, I'm gonna be just like you and get strong so that I'll be Hokage."

Yamato looked at his son, a bit amused by the boy's enthusiasm. "Naruto, being Hokage is not such an easy job, you know? The demand on you is incredible. You must have wisdom to make the best decisions for your village and you must be able to stand in the face of adversity and protect the village as if they are your loved ones. All the people in this village, Naruto, are part of my family." He then thought to himself and decided to give his son a life lesson to remember. "Naruto, whatever you do, do not forget this, understand me?" Naruto looked at him, hearing the tone in his voice and listening intently. "If you desire to be Hokage, then you must ask yourself, where does your strength come from? Until they have found the answer to that question, most ninja never reach their potential."

Naruto digested all the information and attacked his father with one last question. "Um...dad?" His father looked to him. "Where do you get your strength?"

The man known as the Fourth Hokage just stared at the sky again before resigning himself to answering the question. "My strength, Naruto, is my family. Anytime I feel that my family may be endangered by something, I will use everything in my power to protect them. And not just you and your mother and Jiraiya, either. Everyone in this village is a part of my family. And I will always be strong for them." Seeing Naruto looking more thoughfully, he decided to tease his son. "So, Naruto, do you have someone who is special enough to you? Do you have someone to protect?"

(End Flashback)

As the vision ended, something within Naruto snapped. Something so tangible but that couldn't be seen. Inside of his mind, there were three personalities facing each other. There was the distraught teenager, the furious avenger, and the determined son of the Hokage...and they all seemed to merge, creating a clash of emotions that worked in perfect symmetry.

The blast that had been aimed for Naruto was on the verge of hitting him but before the powerful flames engulfed him and Hinata, he extended his right hand out and caught it. Yamato, Vega, Garrett and anyone else who was watching had their jaws dropped, damn close to hitting the floor with them.

"That brat just caught my blast! How the hell did he do that!" shouted an irate Vega.

To the untrained eye, that would be a damn good question, but Yamato was no novice. He could see what was happening and it left him dumbstruck. The flame was being blocked but not by Naruto's bare hand. It was being _caught_ in a vortex of chakra made by Naruto. He had been spinning his chakra so fast that it had created a vortex effect, forcing the blast to be blocked and yet, held at the same time. The one thing that was going through his mind right now was how did Naruto know that would work? _'Wait, an even better question would be how would he know how to make a vortex with his chakra?'_ Yamato had no clue and would probably be laughing hysterically if he knew the truth of the matter. In fact, Naruto had no idea how he did that, but then again, Naruto wasn't really himself right then.

In the rush of emotions, a new persona had arrived to the forefront, one that was not the Naruto they had all known. And it was an eerie sight to behold.

If one were to inspect the theory of traits passing on through DNA, people would come to the most noticeable similarities between the offspring and the parent. Hair color, skin color, height, size, eye color, and even the capacity for being fast or strong. One of the more curious things that could be passed on is behavior. If say, a man with a mean streak were to have a child with a woman who was peaceful and did not desire confrontation. Now the child that is born seems to have more of the mother's qualities and therefore, as it grows, is a peaceful individual. That does not exclude the fact that their is a dormant trait. It is an opinion of some scientists that just because one parent is dominant does not mean that the child born between them does not possess some of the qualities of the other parent but those traits are actually dormant. That peaceful child could easily snap and become a violent, cold-blooded individual for a brief amount of time before their natural behavior is restored. Those scientists, right now, would view Naruto as the perfect example.

The regular Naruto, who had bumbled and shown weakness on more than one occasion, was seen not as that Naruto but for who he truly was, and the label was the one he had been desperately trying to escape. But that was who he appeared to be. The spitting image of the fabled 'Yellow Flash of Konoha.' The Hokage's son had a look in his eyes that made Garrett step back and falter in his pursuit to finish the job as Naruto turned his gaze to Vega. "Traitor...you can have this back." Naruto swung his arms and propelled the chakra back at Vega. Before Vega could react, the blast had slammed against the shield that the ruby gave him but the force had been impressive enough to knock the man off his feet and fall back.

Yamato, snapping out of his reverie, saw the opening but knew he wasn't fast enough. Making a quick decision, he chose Kiba. "Kiba, Vega is vulnerable. ATTACK!" Kiba leapt into action. He ran and performed his 'garouga' attack and before Vega could stand and get his balance, Kiba slammed into him, knocking the ruby from his grip. As the stone rolled on the ground, Vega called out to Garrett for assistance.

"Garrett! The ruby, get it!" Garrett turned to the stone and bounded his way to it. Suddenly, Sasuke flashed by and snatched it up, firing multiple little fire bullets at the man to catch him off guard. He shrugged them off and continued after Sasuke. He slammed a fist into the ground, causing another mini-quake and knocking Sasuke off his feet and he dropped the ruby. Vega made a mad dash for the stone but as his hand was about to grip the stone, small roots came out of the ground and pulled the stone underneath the ground. He looked and saw Yamato just grinning at him, the ruby in his hand. "I don't need that stone to beat you at this point. You're as good as finished."

"Nice comeback, too bad bravado doesn't get you any extra points in this situation. You will pay for what you have done this day." A snappy comeback was on the way from Vega before a loud thud was heard and he went plummeting face-first into the ground, coughing up bits of dirt. Yamato looked and was relieved by the fact that Kurenai was up and around now.

"That was for earlier, you scum of a man." Inside she was livid and she turned her rage towards Garrett, who was a bit in shock at the fact that he was now outnumbered and by much heavier odds. He no longer had Vega with the ruby for support and he now had to contend with the addition of the female jounin. He was beginning to fear what the jounin might do to him but his fears, he later realized, would've been better placed on a different target.

Kurenai had begun waking up when she heard the frantic cries from Naruto and saw the limp form of Hinata in his arms. Denial on a heavy level set in as she thought that Hinata could not be dead, but she couldn't feel the girl's chakra signature and became instantly furious until Naruto had stunned her by stopping the attack on them. That was why she was so angry. Not just because of Hinata but because this man, who used to be a Konoha nin, would attack Hinata and Naruto while they were in such a defenseless position. She wanted to do many horrific things to this man but she was directing her anger for now at the big man who had done the initial damage and was on the verge of just unleashing all of her anger and power in one powerful wave of attacks to destroy him, but someone else seemed to have other plans - the same person who had stunned her.

"Don't you dare turn your back to me! I'm the one who's going to make you pay!" Garrett turned and saw the blonde boy approaching him. He swung with his leg out to the boy but he only blocked it with his forearms. You would have thought that the sound of cracking bones would have followed but it didn't. That was because Naruto had donned his arm bracers that the ex-third had given him. Garrett, now bringing that leg back and gaining all of his balance, cocked his arm back and swung straight for Naruto. He had hoped that he would either be lucky enough for the boy to not move and get hit full force or that the boy would move away from him and give him room to breathe. Neither happened, however, as Naruto brought his left hand up to try and catch Garrett's right hand. Naruto, surprisingly, succeeded, but you could hear the sound of his bones splintering inside of the skin, and Garrett got a sick sense of satiisfaction plastered on his face. It quickly disappeared when he saw that the boy did not appear to be in pain. Instead, he was emotionless. Garrett tried to move away, but he was trapped. He wanted to move, but Naruto's presence had him caught. He was exuding an aura of complete dominance and Garrett was stuck in it. He was stuck, incapable of willing his legs to move.

"Why are you so strong all of a sudden? It's inconceivable." To Garrett, it was. But to anybody who knew the Yondaime, it wasn't.

"It's because there is someone that I must protect. Without her, I would be nothing. She was my first friend, and if I lose her, I'll be losing the best part of me. You have tried to take that away...and for that...YOU WILL PAY!" Naruto thrusted his right hand out to the side and chakra began to gather around it - spinning, twisting, and forming...into a sphere.

Yamato looked on in awe. _'Th-that's the Yondaime's...'_ he thought to himself as he saw the mass of blue chakra form into the sphere and watched it being thrusted into the giant of a man's midsection. The attack was precise and accurate, as the sphere kept drilling into the man's stomach and launched him towards a tree, where he stayed until the attack dissipated.

When the man had finally fallen to the ground, Yamato handed the ruby to Kurenai and walked towards Garrett and Vega, performing several handseals. He looked at them and saw Vega's eyes flash with fright, now that he did not have the ruby's power for protection. Slamming his hands to the ground, he looked at them both before uttering words that ran their blood cold. "Jail...hell, even the interrogation room is too good for you. You don't deserve that level of mercy. Mokuton: Wrath of the Demon Seed." Suddenly, four medium sized roots burst through the earth and wrapped around both men, the thorns protruding from the wood unmercifully ripping into their flesh and making them scream in agony as they were drug down underneath the ground, where Yamato knew they would meet a gruesome fate - their shouts and cries of pain and horror echoing for miles.

Naruto fell to the ground, panting heavily, as his vision seemed to uncloud and he came back to himself. He looked around and upon no longer seeing Garrett or Vega, he could only ask one question. "Did we win?" Yamato walked up to him, placing a hand on his shoulder, and nodded. He was still surprised about what Naruto had accomplished. Naruto had violated every scrap of knowledge Yamato had on the behavior of a young genin. He allowed his emotions to overcome him and fought with those emotions guiding him. But instead of becoming a victim, Naruto had transformed. He had become a literal demon on the battlefield. It was almost frightening how an individual's emotions could turn some people into helpless shells that resembled a child and yet the exact opposite could occur, as it did in this case.

Naruto felt relieved but then his thoughts turned to Hinata. He went to her form, which he had left when his mind became so hazy that nothing seemed to make sense anymore. Kurenai followed suit, very quickly, and knelt down beside Hinata, using her chakra to perform a diagnostic check on the Hyuuga girl.

Her eyes bulged and then she hung her head. Naruto looked at her and hung his own head, not capable of believing it. "I-...Is she...d-dead, Kurenai-sensei?" Naruto managed to choke out, before succumbing to a fit of his own sobs. Through his teary eyes, he saw Kurenai look at him.

"Naruto...Hinata...she's alive."

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So how did you like that ending? I figured that by the end of this chapter I had you guys actually wondering if she was alive or not. Don't worry, I'm not that cruel. But now you have to ask yourself this question. A nasty hit to her head, she has been unconscious for a while, is there any brain damage? Possible memory loss? Or, heaven forbid, is she in a coma? Not even I know, the next chapter will be a challenge for me since I have no clue what I'm gonna have it be about.

To anyone who thinks I ended it too quickly, please try and remember that this is my first story on this website. I tried to think of a proper way to end the fight and this ended up being the best thing I could think of. But hey, now that that arc of my story is complete, I can now focus more attention on the next arc, which I believe most of you are very interested in. (Care to take a guess?)

As I'm writing this conclusionary paragraph, I have determined what the main theme of the next chapter is gonna be about. So, before I move on with the preview, I wanna say that your comments are very welcome and appreciated (more so than ever). As for your preview:

_Looking at each other, everyone there did not look the same as when they first began this mission. This had been a horrendous test to their abilities in this situation and it had pushed them all to the brink. They all knew they wouldn't be the same after this. Yamato and Kurenai both knew it too. They would never had thought of throwing their young pupils into a situation like this so early but it had happened. Now in the aftermath, questions lingered and needed to be asked. The answers...just didn't want to come.  
_

_"So you don't even remember what happened?" Kiba asked a weary and confused Naruto.  
_

_"No...I just remember Hinata being injured...then...a blur...all of it was a blur...why? What happened?"  
_


	10. Chapter 10

Welcome back to the story, ladies and gentlemen, and thank you for sticking around. Many a question was raised about the last chapter and I have taken all the suggestions I received into account. All of them are fairly possible, a few of them being quite brilliant. So I thank you all for your suggestions, they were very much appreciated and welcomed. Thanks, also, to those who pointed out a couple of mistakes I made. That'll teach me to just go ahead and throw out a chapter without proof-reading it again. That's the power of your voice and it keeps me inspired.

Yet again, I find myself on shaky grounds, as this chapter ended up getting carried away from me. But I found myself not capable of leaving any of these things out. (A/N: I don't know anything about Yamato/Tenzou's past, so what is said in this chapter is strictly me, in some parts. Those parts should be evident for those who know who Yamato is.) So finally, without any further delay, I present to you my tenth chapter.

Chapter Ten - The Aftermath part one

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"Naruto...Hinata...she's alive."

Naruto looked at Kurenai and then down to Hinata and a wave of relief washed over him. The weariness on his body from the exhausting ordeal he had just gone through settled in as he allowed himself to drift off to blissful slumber, right next to Hinata. While some might think it was cute to see his slumbering form, the others realized what it would mean. Another body for them to carry. Yamato had a quick solution to this but they would need to hustle to Konoha. Vigilance was key but so was intuition, and his intuition told him that none of them had the endurance to keep up the pace they needed to be at in order to make it to Konoha in this one day. It was already past noon and they were only maybe a hundred miles away from the village, just barely past the open fields and in the forest - although it no longer resembled a forest, the area they were in.

The once luscious and beautiful trees with their plain, yet pretty, leaves of green were gone, ravaged by the confrontation and the fearsome attacks that ensued. Uprooted trees, ruined soil, crippled layers of earth, it was all evidence of their battle. This was now a wasteland, this small area, and though many people would find it curious that it existed, they would just ignore it, not knowing the true meaning behind the horrible sight. They would never know why it would be considered a horrible sight either. This land was evidence of the struggle for life. This wasteland was proof that eight people had faced life-threatening danger. This unkempt ground was forever a haunting reminder of the terrible consequences that came with the life these individuals led. And now, as much as it was the remnants of a great battle, it was a graveyard, where individuals had died during the battle.

The loss of this life, however, did not affect their killer. Yamato, or rather Tenzou, had taken many lives in the name of his village. He had done so and though he never once complained about it, it did not mean that he always enjoyed it. Indeed, the man was raised to be a shinobi, learning one of the more difficult styles of ninjutsu. Many techniques were developed, learned, and utilized throughout his life and he had become somewhat of a weapon. The weapon did not lose his heart even through the numerous missions. When he was shown to be ready, he was employed into the ranks of ANBU, the special squad of Konoha whose members are of a different class altogether. Quickly rising through the ranks, the man known as Tenzou was seated among the elite of the squad, along with Uchiha Itachi and the Yondaime's protègé, Hatake Kakashi. After an event occurred between Kakashi and his team, however, the young man who was the captain of the ANBU squad stepped down and removed himself from that league. No one blamed him and everyone felt for him, wishing him well as he tried to cope. Tenzou was ushered into the role of captain, placing him - surprisingly, even to Tenzou himself - above Itachi. He was later informed of that purpose because of Tenzou's capabilities.

Tenzou had capabilities that allowed him to be more adept for the leadership role than Itachi, mainly because of the usefulness of the Mokuton style. If they ever had to deal with large-scale opposition, where the enemy had numbers over them, Tenzou was the one who could easily thin the numbers of their opponents. Possessing the ability to use a number of large, widespread, area-effecting techniques led to his reputation. Indeed, the man named Tenzou had claimed many lives in the name of his village.

When he was called by the Yondaime to step down as captain and out of the ANBU position, he was certainly surprised; especially when he was told that he was to be the instructor of a team of genin - the team that held the children of the 'great clans,' no less. He had struggled with the decision for many a day, racking his brain for countless hours on why he was so unsure of this move. Why would he fear to take this position? Why was this so different from the ruthless position he had been in? It was only when he scouted his team-to-be that he realized why.

He feared for them. That was the reason. His name had many angry eyes upon it and many vengeful spirits seeking him. He knew that if he were to be a good leader for his team, he would have to shed his past, the past that held so much devastation and had the blood of many a foe on his hands. He could not smear these innocents yet, they were still pure, never once having to fear the aftermath of such a lifestyle. It was to be his job to prepare them for that life and get them ready for it but he could not do it with his past so tainted. So, in an act of separation, in order to sever his link to that lifestyle, he performed suicide, burying his haunted past. No longer was he Tenzou, the weapon of ANBU and the slaughterer of Konoha's foes. Now, he was a man free of that restraint and had a new beginning.

Donning the name Yamato, he was able to accept his new role with confidence. If needed, he would bring forth the power he had learned to use and he would use it to defend his team and if needed, his village. Little too late was he to help defend his pupils. He had not been able to protect Hyuuga Hinata and he was not the one who was able to stop Vega's ruthless assault on the defenseless genin. No, it was his own pupil, the young genin, Naruto, who had managed to do so. And he still couldn't believe what he saw.

He had seen on many an occasion where the Yondaime had become serious and issued out orders in a harsh and cold tone. He was the spitting image of a leader through impression and example. He had set the example before he had become the Hokage, the stories of his presence felt during the Secret War. Uzumaki Arashi, the Yellow Flash of Konoha, was rumored to be a fighter, unparallelled by any. He was certainly a strong shinobi, no Hokage wasn't. But Arashi was said to be the strongest. A genius in many ways, Arashi learned an astounding number of techniques and developed a number more. And when his wife had given birth to a baby boy, many had great expectations for him.

But Yamato had come to understand, as he was accepting the role of instructor to Team Seven, that Naruto had shown a lack of desire to train and learn. The image of the Yondaime's child being lazy didn't seem to set right in his mind but he accepted Arashi's words. Seeing the report from the Academy instructor only backed up Arashi's statements about his child but the sheer amount of increase in the performance of Naruto during the final year had given him hope. The assessment on the first day gave him even more hope and allowed him to have no worries. What he did not expect, however, was what had occurred this day. Naruto had shown a side of him that was down-right chilling.

Naruto, despite his faults and his metaphorical hole he had dug himself into that he needed to train really hard in order to keep up with his teammates, showed a side that you would only expect from the seasoned vets of Konoha's elites. The once bright, brilliant, and cheerful eyes became dark and threatening, his presence became palpable - so intoxicating that you were frozen in awe - and his attitude, a literal mirror image of the Yondaime. What the lingering question on Yamato's mind was what happened? How did Naruto do what he did?

Picking up the fragments of his question-filled mind, he returned his attention to the situation around them and began an assessment of what they needed to do. Kurenai was currently over by Sakura, checking on her to see how injured she was. He overheard Sakura's weak and laboured voice tell Kurenai that she felt as if her ribs were broken but that she would be fine. Kurenai, just to be safe, performed a diagnostic check on her to see if there was anything else. After concluding the test, she found that there was massive bruising along her abdominal musculature and that, indeed, there were a few broken ribs. Nothing too life threatening as long the bruising didn't swell too much. Kurenai said she would keep track of her condition as they made their way back to Konoha. Then checking up on Kiba and his dog, who Kiba said was fine, she moved to Shino, who said he was okay as well. Moving to Sasuke, he said that he too was fine and it was confirmed. She had already done a check on Naruto as soon as he passed out to be sure nothing was terribly wrong with the boy and diagnosed it as extreme fatigue and chakra exhaustion. It wasn't on a dangerous level but it also wasn't safe. They needed to avoid any more confrontations. When Kurenai walked over to Yamato to inspect the wound on his arm from the technique he had used on Garrett (but the man had just sent it back at him,) she had determined that the damage was more severe than it appeared. Apparently, the attack had done more than just pierce his skin and make him bleed. It had also ripped up muscle tissue in the process. She worried that if the wound wasn't properly tended to, then atrophy might set in and make his arm useless.

Yamato just shrugged off her worry, effectively pissing her off on the way he was treating his injury so casually when he obviously should not, but then explained his reasoning. "Kurenai-san, my chakra has the affinity for wood and, therefore, it is not a matter of if my injury doesn't get treated but how." She looked at him dumbly until he grabbed a twig and stood up. He looked as if he were pondering something and suddenly came up with a good idea as he started to draw a circle around himself. After doing that, he drew a diamond inside of the circle and made lines follow from the corners of the diamond to the center of the design. Then he performed a few one-handed seals and pointed a finger from his good hand down to the ground and touched the earth, right in the middle of his design. Light shined around the design and a small vine emerged from the ground with a few leaves sprouting from the sides. Looking at Kurenai, who was a bit confused on his actions - as were the rest of the genin who had huddled together close to Naruto and Hinata, but were now looking at Yamato for a purpose to his actions, he smiled lightly and asked "You do have some training in the medical field right?"

Kurenai's eyes bulged that he would know that but nodded. "Yes, I do. Why do you want to know?"

"Because I need to fuel this process. I have no way of knowing what to do from here, I just know how to make the design. Will you use your healing chakra to make this work?" Kurenai digested what he said and was amazed and impressed. Since he asked her to use her 'healing chakra,' that meant that this design was the same design the medic nins use to patch up wounds from an injured shinobi. If she was correct, he was going to use that little plant he had grown as the medium in a medical process. The medium of these procedures could range from anything but only if it was safe to use it, and that medium would be the thing to patch up the wound. She nodded her head again, began gathering chakra to her hands - which were beginning to glow green - and she touched the design. The lines drawn in the ground absorbed her chakra, the green glow flowing across the design and making it's way to the center. The plant glowed green after absorbing the chakra and it squirmed it's way to Yamato's injury - the said man having laid down in the design with his wound exposed and close to the center. It creeped it's way into his flesh, repulsing the few genin still conscious, and started to layer itself out, filling out the hole and making grotesque and disturbing noises as it continued venturing into the wound. After another minute, the plant stopped, glowed green, then white, and then the glow faded, leaving nothing but his naturally colored flesh. No wound, no sign of an injury.

Yamato stood up, dusting himself off and flexed and rotated his arm and shoulder to test it out. "Not bad. Thank you, Kurenai-san. I appreciate your assistance." She beamed at him, blushing slightly, but then dropped the face when she realized the situation they were in. Hinata and Naruto were both unconscious, with Hinata unlikely to wake up for a day or so - possibly longer, and Naruto was thoroughly whipped, the diagnostic test and her analysis not doing it justice. Fractured bones in his left hand and slight fractures in his ulnar forearm bone, and chakra exhaustion on a large level. Like she had said, it wasn't life threatening, but it wasn't exactly safe either. Sakura would not be able to move on her own yet and it was at this point that she had truly wished she continued to study the medical arts for ninjas. They were hard-pressed to get them to a hospital where they could receive treatment, but she did not know of any hospital in Fire Country, close by, that could handle these types of injuries. They needed a hospital with experience in injured shinobi and that left Konoha.

"Alright, everyone. Listen up. I know we have just gone through a great ordeal and you may feel that this is rushing things a bit but we need to get back to Konoha." The remaining conscious ninjas looked at him in understanding. "Alright, we have a seriously injured, unconscious ninja, an unconscious, fatigued ninja, and a conscious, injured ninja. Since you are the least injured of us, Sasuke, I will have you carry Sakura." Kiba flashed a mischievous grin at Sasuke upon hearing that.

Sasuke glared at the Inuzuka with more anger than was necessary. "If you say anything, mongrel, I will burn your puppy's fur a permanent red."

Akamaru barked angrily, but upon seeing Sasuke's returned glare, whimpered and jumped into Kiba's coat, squirming till his face was barely visible at the top of his master's shirt. "Hey, don't get all pissed off at me or Akamaru. We all have to pull our weight, you are no different, pretty boy." They continued to glare at each other until they heard Yamato clearing his throat.

"Do you mind, we ARE on a time schedule here." Sasuke averted his eyes, a little ashamed of himself for bickering when they were in this position. His fellow teammates were in bad condition but he was barely bruised. He could have done so much more but...

"Yes sir, Yamato-sensei." Sasuke walked over to Sakura and knelt down to her, causing her to blush slightly. "Umm...well...er...I don't know how I should pick you up. I don't want to do something...you know...inappropriate." Kiba began howling with laughter, earning a deeper blush from Sakura and another glare from Sasuke.

"You're just carrying her to the village, not taking her on a first date." Sasuke was about to lash out verbally but Sakura spoke up this time.

"Kiba...I swear...if my ribs didn't hurt so much...you would be needing someone to carry YOU back to the village." Kiba shivered in fright, knowing how strong Sakura struck you if you pissed her off enough. She was probably right too. "Sasuke-kun...just let me ride on your back. Problem solved."

Sasuke chuckled at how simple she made that sound and it was. Why was he so nervous all of a sudden anyway? True, Naruto telling him to try and be friendly with her did affect him in a way but why this much? Shaking his head, he looked to her and nodded. "Come on, everyone's almost ready."

She leaned in a little and wrapped her arms around his neck, choking him for a moment, but it passed after he assisted her with getting situated on his back. Moving his head so that he could see her out of the corner of his eyes, he almost laughed again at how she was blushing. It was a tad embarrassing but they could deal with it. They were technically grown-up by ninja standards and whatever childish thoughts you had when on a mission were to be discarded in favor of completing it to the best of your abilities.

Now focusing on the rest of the group, Sasuke saw that they, indeed, were ready. Yamato had gone ahead and decided that he would carry Naruto, the blonde boy slung over one of his shoulders. Kurenai had scooped up Hinata in bridal-style, doing so in order to prevent her head from bouncing around as they moved. There was no sign of neck damage, as far as the vertebral column was concerned. But as far as the muscles in her neck were concerned, they were strained and probably suffered from whiplash. Any sudden movement would only aggravate the condition more. Yamato looked over everyone, making sure they were set.

"Alright, here is the plan. We are gonna try and make it as far as we can in the condition we are in. We still need to be wary of other possible attackers. Kiba, you will lead, your sense of smell will be more valuable than anything right now. We need to move fast, we don't have as much daylight as we did yesterday for the distance that remains." They all nodded their understanding, even Kurenai, knowing that this man was in a better position right now to be a leader than she was. Her head still hurt a bit but she felt that it wouldn't hinder her too much. They all got in position, and when Yamato gave the signal, they started on their journey back.

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It was nearing that time of night where a particular man with a particularly large mop of unruly blonde hair was supposed to finish up his business for the day and call it quits, spending the rest of the evening in the company of his family. But because of certain...awkward events that occurred this morning, he had arrived late and therefore, didn't get started till late. So, in consequence, he was planning on staying longer than necessary. He heard a disgruntled moan come from a man with white hair, who was sitting across him.

"You know...Kakashi's team needs to hurry themselves back. This is getting boring. I could be doing such lovely research right now. But noooooo...I have to babysit the Hokage, the strongest ninja in Konoha. You know, despite all the great things about this village, it sure as hell has some stupid customs." Jiraiya spoke in such an agitated tone that it was comical just to look at the man as he spoke. His jaw muscles so tense from sheer displeasure with his position that he gave off the impression of a regal lord.

"But Ero-sennin, you were the one who accepted this role." he said so teasingly to his tutor that it made him laugh.

"Well, I didn't know that it would be this boring at that time. This is just ridiculous. Hurry up already." He leaned back in his chair, hands behind his head, and doing his best to look miserable in hopes of invoking some sympathy from Arashi and would decide to pack things up. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, though, it was quickly erased by the knowledge that that wouldn't happen. Arashi was very stubborn and would do what he set out to do, no matter what.

Arashi peered at his sensei and just shook his head disappointedly. Then a thought came to mind and he decided to ask Jiraiya what he felt about it. "Say, ero-sennin, do you believe in omens?"

Jiraiya was about to jump on him for using that nickname again but pushed that thought away in favor of considering the question. "Well yeah, if it is truly ominous. I'm not a superstitious man but-"

"Neither am I. But this morning, numerous, weird things happened and it just made me wonder..." Jiraiya knew what Arashi was thinking about too. It was what every parent thinks when their child is sent off to war (or in this case, possible conflict). The fear that they may not come back.

"Well, I don't think you should take it to heart. If anything was truly wrong then you would have had knowledge of that fact." Arashi was appreciative for the words of encouragement but wasn't convinced. Something just didn't seem to sit right.

Setting down his pen, he stretched and yawned, taking a look at the clock on the wall and seeing that it was a bit past nine. Jiraiya noticed this too and looked at Arashi expectantly. "Yes, Jiraiya, yes. Let me just gather a few documents to take home with me and we can leave." Jiraiya looked like he was a teenager again, becoming as giddy as he did. He watched Arashi as he sorted out through a stack of papers and grabbed specific ones as he went through. When he finally grabbed the ones he wanted, he shoved the stack away and stood up, stretching again - his bones creaking and joints popping.

"Finally, when we get back to your house I'm drinking some of your wife's sake. That will take the edge off." They both laughed amusedly at Jiraiya's over-exaggerated exhaustion. Although, Arashi had to admit a glass of his wife's sake would taste divine this evening. It was the first time they would have the house without many others in the household with them and he could probably get Jiraiya to give them some peace this evening. Maybe something good did come out of Naruto's absence.

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Sasuke kept poking the fire with a stick every now and then in order to keep it stoked pretty good. He looked into the fire, seeing it's wild flickering and ablaze passion, reminding him of Naruto. He had felt superior to many a person while in the academy but didn't really flaunt it as much as one might think he would. The reason for doing so - though he would never admit it out loud - was Naruto. Something about him made those who were less confident, more confident when around him. And if you felt superior to him, he had this way of making you feel small just with a look. When they were placed on the team together, he had been incredulous but only because of the grades in the previous years. Naruto had proven though, throughout the days they trained together, that he adapted and progressed at a remarkable rate. But nothing had ever given Sasuke the idea that Naruto was capable of something like what he had done earlier that day.

He turned and looked upon the sleeping form of his fellow teammates, both in a deep sleep, not having stirred at all. Naruto tended to mumble a bit but it was all incoherent and just considered to be sleep talk, if anything. As he gazed at them, he was reminded of what Naruto had said to the gargantuan man who had inflicted the damage to Hinata when he was questioned about his sudden change in strength.

'It's because I have someone to protect.' It echoed in his head many times on their way back, helping to keep him distracted as his fatigue was starting to set in. Sakura, who had stayed relatively close to him, not wanting to get him mad at her, but feeling safer when around him, had seen him stare at the unconscious forms of Naruto and Hinata.

"Are you worried about them?" she asked in a quiet but sweet and sincere voice. He jerked his head to look at her, surprised that he had gone off like that and processed what she asked him.

"They're strong. They'll get through it." His voice was cold but it had tinges of sincerity in it.

"Aren't you at all concerned?" she continued to ask him. It seemed unnatural that Sasuke wouldn't be a little concerned about them, they were his teammates after all.

"I...guess I would be lying if I said no." He hung his head, hating himself immediately for saying that. That was what a weak person would say. That was what a weak person would do. Worry over their teammates. His father had told him that if you survive and your teammates do not, do not give them the time of day for your thoughts. Only the strong survive. But Sasuke...he was different than that. He wanted to be strong but he also didn't want to be cold and distant.

"You know, you don't have to make it sound like it is such a big deal to worry about your comrades. I may not be friends with them but I still am worried about them." spoke Kiba, no longer having that jacket on. On his lap lay the little white dog who was sleeping soundly as Kiba stroked it's back. "Compassion isn't some kind of weakness that you need to fear. It only shows that you are still human."

Sakura smiled approvingly of Kiba's words, not really finding any way to put it better than how he did. She looked at Sasuke, expecting to see him showing a whole new side of himself and letting his emotions run out like a stream...but she must have bumped her head and nobody knew about it if she thought that that would be the outcome. An emotionally-expressive Sasuke was an oxymoron. Plastered across his face was the same emotionless look though his eyes did seem to hold a sadder haze in them.

"It's not that I think it is a weakness...it's just...that's my way of being hopeful." Sasuke, after saying that, refused to look around, afraid that he would see people making fun of him or jeering him for sounding so unlike him. But nothing of the sort occurred.

"hmph...if that's the case, then go ahead and do what you gotta do. I'm in no place to judge you." Kiba looked at Sasuke to judge if he truly was being sincere but just couldn't get a solid read on him. So instead, he went back to rubbing his dog.

With no one really paying attention to anything in particular anymore, Sakura decided that this was the time for her to get some rest. Her abdomen still hurt like hell and it might only get worse tomorrow. She gingerly stood up to make her way to her sleeping bag, since they didn't have any tents. The reason, as it was explained when they stopped to make camp for the night, was because they did not think they would be sleeping outside with Vule in their company. The plan for the evening situation was that they would get rooms in an inn at a town. So now that that idea was shot, they were forced to make due with their sleeping bags.

It was okay though. No one complained, not even Sakura. She didn't want a tent and probably no one else wanted one either. Consider it being spooked and very uneasy after the events from earlier today. They wanted the security of knowing that everyone else could easily see each other and watch out for everyone.

As Sakura started to get comfortable in her sleeping bag, she looked upon the back of Sasuke, seeing his posture slumped and wishing that she could do something to help him get out of his funk. Worrying about it, though, would get her nowhere. She didn't know him enough to help. She could only try and be a good friend and just give him some comfort. Accepting that thought, she snuggled into her bag for a well-deserved rest.

"Good night, everyone." she said sleepily as she yawned. Everyone responded with a good night of their own, but not with as much warmth as you would hope from your friends. _'Hmph...guess it's the thought that counts.'_ She then whispered something she hoped only Sasuke could hear. "Good night, Sasuke, and thank you."

He jerked his head slightly at her words and looked slightly behind him to her, seeing her turned the other way. _'Thanks for what? But I didn't do anything special, I just carried her like I was told to.'_ He kept racking his head but couldn't come up with a reasonable theory as to why she thanked him except that she was kind-natured (boy, he doesn't know Sakura then). Turning his head back towards the front, he responded to her in a voice that was barely above a whisper. "You're welcome."

Unbeknownst to him, she had heard him and smiled in satisfaction. Maybe there was hope, if only for friendship, but it was still something.

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He was warm...and quite comfortable too. He felt material over his form that was helping keep him cozy, but so was the person next to him. Oh Kami, how he loved her. Last night had been wonderful, despite the lack of over-exuberant energy that seemed to flood the household when his son was there. They had been able to convince Jiraiya to go out on the town and enjoy himself late into the evening so they could have some 'alone' time. Jiraiya agreed, but not before flashing that all-too-infamous perverted grin of his.

So here he lay, snuggled up to the woman who he was still madly in love with, enjoying the feeling of her smooth skin and hypnotizingly rhythmic breathing, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. Why was he awake anyway? What had woken him up? He shifted himself on the bed and looked around for a clock, seeing that it was just a little past eight a.m. _'What the...THE ALARM DIDN'T GO OFF! I'M LATE!'_

He slung the covers off himself in a not-so-gentle manner, forgetting that his wife was still sleeping next to him. He hustled to his wardrobe closet and grabbed another one of his ceremonial robes. He sped towards the bathroom so he could get changed, grabbing some comfortable clothes he could wear underneath the robe. After taking a very quick shower, he got dressed and stormed out of the bathroom towards the kitchen to prepare himself something quickly.

When he reached the kitchen, he saw a bowl of ramen waiting for him with steam billowing from it as if it were freshly made. Hearing the sound of water running in the sink, he looked towards that direction and saw Collette scrubbing a pan. She layed it down, shut off the water, grabbed a hand towel to dry her hands and turned to see Arashi, smiling at her. Such an infectious smile too, that she couldn't help but smile back.

He sat down, breaking apart his sticks, spoke the traditional 'Itadakimasu,' and dove into his ramen. Each time he brought his chopsticks back up, he brought a great number of noodles with it, slurping them into his mouth happily, and making exaggerated moans of delight. Finishing off the noodles, he drank the broth, the warmth and delicious taste feeling wonderful in his mouth and throat. Handing the bowl to Collette, who was standing there patiently waiting for him to finish, he said the same corny thing he always did.

"Ahh...Collette, your cooking is exquisite, as always. It is only surpassed by your radiant beauty." Arashi made sure to coat his words with as much a royal tone as possible. Giggling, she rinsed the bowl and scrubbed it with a soapy sponge.

"And you always say the corniest things, you goof. But thank you, Arashi-dear." She had no idea how much she would regret not specifying what her thanks were for.

"For what? The compliment?" When he stopped, the question hung in the air as if begging to be answered and yet was desiring not to be answered. "Or for last night?" he finished his original statement, the words spoken slowly...sensually.

She tensed and blushed, despite no one being around to hear their conversation. It just seemed...weird. She felt his arms wrap around her waist as he hugged her from behind. He kissed her neck and turned her around so that he could kiss her on the lips. They stayed like that for a few moments before Collette forced him to stop by reminding him of why he was in such a hurry this morning.

"D-Don't you need to be somewhere?" She smiled victoriously when she saw him look panicked and then pout at her.

"Awww...just when it was getting to the good part." He flashed a mischievious grin at her, which caused her to giggle. Kissing him again on the lips, she broke it and shoved him playfully away.

"Better hurry up before the village burns down." Arashi laughed at her joke and went to leave, wishing her a good day, and she doing the same for him, until they both heard a knock coming from the door. It wasn't one of those courteous knocks either. It was frantic. Arashi didn't pay it much mind, thinking that it was just one of the shinobi stationed at the Hokage's Tower checking in on him to see if he was on his way or not.

Opening the door, he saw a stern, yet worried look on the face of Kotetsu. "Good morning, Kotetsu. I understand that I am a bit late." Before Kotetsu could speak when Arashi had finished, he spoke up again just as quickly. "Good bye, Collette. See you when I get home." He heard her call out her own good bye before he closed the door to his house. Kotetsu tried to speak again but was cut off as the Yondaime just sped past him, moving at a vigorous pace towards the tower. He was about to use his 'body flicker' technique when Kotetsu finally shouted to him for his attention.

"YONDAIME SIR!" Arashi halted in his steps and turned to look at him, a bit surprised by the forceful call.

"What is it, Kotetsu. I'm late enough as it is." Arashi crossed his arms across his chest and started tapping one of his fingers against the other arm's bicep.

"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but I have brought news that has been sent from the main gate's squad. Apparently, Team's Seven and Eight arrived back just a few minutes ago." Kotetsu was catching his breath and about to continue when, to his annoyance, Arashi started speaking again, cutting Kotetsu off.

"Splendid, have them come to my office in the tower for the report. I wish to hear about how their progress was." It was a bit shocking that they were back already. That meant they moved at a pretty fast pace. He didn't think Lord Vule could keep up that pace unless someone carried him but that would be un-lord-like.

"Sir...about that. It was also reported that there were injuries sustained during the mission. Two shinobi were still unconscious while another was conscious but needed assistance. They are already-" but before he could even finish, Arashi formed - at a furious speed - the handseals required for his technique and shouted "Shunshin," disappearing in a burst of chakra, "at...the...hospital" Kotetsu said, finishing his statement to nothing but air. The Yondaime truly was a unique individual. Kotetsu looked at the door to Arashi's home and decided that maybe his wife might want to know so he went to the door and knocked.

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A hospital was meant to be a place where people could feel warm and safe and secure in a peaceful, sterile environment. So why was it that these ninjas persisted in ruining that atmosphere on more than one occasion this day?

In the middle of the waiting room, a sudden burst of wind caught everyone by surprise; especially when the Yondaime himself seemed to appear out of nowhere. People began to murmur and whisper amongst themselves, while others were awed in silence.

The man walked to the front counter, commanding the attention of almost everyone who's attention was available. The nurse at the front desk was nervous in his presence but kept a cheerful demeanor, trying to remain as calm as possible.

"Can I help you, Hokage-sama?" she asked him, barely managing to get that statement out without a stutter.

"Yes, I was told a group of eight or so ninjas just reported to the hospital. I must meet with them, if you will give me their location in the building." When he finished, he looked a bit dismayed, hoping that it wouldn't result to him demanding them tell him the location of the teams.

"Y-Yessir, they are all on the sixth floor, getting checked up." He turned to run towards the stairway when she called out to him before he was out of earshot. "Please be quiet up there sir, that is the intensive care sector of our hospital." She didn't know why she told him that, though, as he went into the stairwell, nodding in acknowledgement. This was his town, he probably knew the layouts of every single building.

In truth, the only reason he actually did know that the sixth floor was the critical care unit's floor was because of his wife, since she did work here. He bounded up the stairs three at a time, narrowly avoiding other people in the stairway on his way up. Jerking the door open on the sixth floor, he stuck his head out and looked both ways to see if he could see any sign of the two teams there. Down the left side of the hallway, he noticed Uchiha Sasuke getting checked up by a nurse in the hallway. Why he wasn't in a room doing that, he didn't have a clue, but Arashi wasn't going to complain.

Stalking down the hallway, it was as if he was in the middle of a graceful dance the way he avoided the numerous nurses, doctors, medical carts, and stretchers. Once he reached Sasuke, he could hear the boy beginning to hiss at the young woman who was trying take his blood pressure.

"My blood pressure? It's only gonna get higher if you keep disturbing me. I told you I'm fine and I mean that. Go away!" The poor woman, who was on the receiving end of the verbal assault, dropped her jaw in shock and backed away, honestly hurt.

"I try my best to help the people who come here. If you don't want my help, fine. Hope you keel over 'cause of a stroke." She then turned around, almost frightened when she saw that Arashi had been there and heard what she said. She turned around to the boy, bowed to him, and kept muttering 'gomen.' Before she left though, he whispered that she was in no trouble so she didn't have to worry. She immediately relaxed and walked away, a bit more relieved than she was just a few moments ago.

"Just because you woke up on the wrong side of the bed does not mean you have the right to belligerently scold those who are just doing their jobs, Sasuke." The boy being spoken to just hung his head a bit more with the arrival of the Hokage. He was the last person Sasuke wanted to see right now. And without Yamato or Kurenai around, that left him with the task of informing the hokage of what occurred.

"Gomen, Hokage-sama. I'm just...a little bit stressed from things." Sasuke's tone took on more of a tone as if he were pleading for Arashi to see his reasoning.

"What happened? Where is everybody else?" he asked the boy, kneeling down so that he could look him in the eyes.

"I believe I'll handle that, if you don't mind, Sasuke." Yamato's voice broke through both men's focused nature. Arashi looked at Yamato and the Yondaime could already tell that he would not like what he was about to be told.

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The clouds in the sky floated lazily away, against, and into each other, teasing the poor, tortured boy.

Well, he wasn't exactly tortured, to say, but he sure as hell felt that he was a prisoner. No one should be forced to be doing what he was doing right now while the sky was so beautiful. Why, oh kami, why...did he have to endure the hardship of training?

"Yo, Shikamaru, why do you think he is so late, huh?" the high-pitched voice of his blonde, female teammate asked, not really knowing just how loud she was. "He's been late a couple times but never like this."

"What do you want me to do about it, huh? Go form a search party or something?" And why, oh kami, why...was he cursed with such an attitude that he couldn't seem to keep his mouth shut around this girl? Everytime he opened his mouth to say something, anything, it always ended up in some sarcastic, satirical slang that pissed her off.

"Oh wait, I'm sorry. I totally forgot. That would be too 'troublesome' for you, wouldn't it? You're such an asshole, you know that?" Ino's anger kept rising and rising, Nara Shikamaru never failed to rouse her ire on many an occasion.

"Chill guys, chill. The least we can do is not kill each other before he gets here." Chouji was desperate for some help. He had hoped that throughout all this time being around Ino that Shikamaru would be a bit more friendly in these situations. But noooooo...Shikamaru didn't try to climb out of the ditch he dug a long time ago when he first pissed Ino off, no. Shikamaru proceeded to bury himself deeper and deeper into a hole so huge that nothing the boy could do at this point would ever make up for it. And everytime Chouji would calm the raging seas between his two other teammates, Shikamaru would open his mouth...and proceed to insert his own foot into his mouth. Honestly, how could they ever hope to co-exist as a team if all they ever did was bicker with each other.

Ino stomped her foot in annoyance, pissed off for a good reason. She honestly wanted his opinion yet Shikamaru succumbed to his never-ending jackass-ery. Really, did it hurt to just give a simple 'I don't know?' You'd think she did ask him to form a search party. But this was getting her nowhere. It was only making her more angry. And worse, her other teammate, Akimichi Chouji, was Shikamaru's best friend. All HE ever did was sit around, eat chips and barbeque, and didn't show any signs of worrying about his weight. Also, when he tried to be the peace-maker, he made it seem like she was also at fault sometimes. She was really getting perturbed with her thoughts swirling the way they were and probably would have exploded if Asuma didn't show up right when he did.

"Yo." They all turned to him and he realized if he didn't say something rather quickly, Ino was going to erupt. It wasn't that he was afraid of her but she had managed to get back at him ONCE when she slipped into his mind and made him...(shiver) He really didn't like recalling it. "Uhh...sorry for being late but I was held up by one of my buddies who told me something interesting."

"Oh boy, and what could that be?" asked Ino with sarcasm, not realizing that Asuma was being sincere.

"Well, I bet they would be offended if they found out you weren't excited to hear of their return." Upon the confused look from Ino, he continued. "Yeah, Team's Seven and Eight returned not but thrity or so minutes ago."

"Alright! Finally, I can go visit my Sasuke-kun" said Ino, practically swooning already. Honestly, did she even realize that Sasuke practically gave her a death glare every time she was close enough to touch him?

"Well...about that...apparently they were roughed up a bit. They're in the hospital so..." but he trailed off at the end when he saw Shikamaru stand up and start walking off. Asuma recognized the direction too and it was the hospital.

"Hey, Shikamaru-teme, where do you think you are going!" Ino was really getting fed up with his attitude. Not only did he have the nerve to provoke her and just be an utter ass, but he also had the gall to just turn and walk away from their sensei.

He stopped, turning his head so that he could look at them while his back was to them. His eyes showed something that Ino hadn't seen out of him...ever. It was actually an emotion other than annoyance. Could it be worry? "I'm going to the hospital. I hope you don't mind, but I have friends on those teams." He then turned back around and kept going.

Chouji made his way to Shikamaru, with Ino following close, but choosing to stop at Asuma's side so she could speak with him real quick. "Are you okay with this, sensei?" He looked at her as if she were amusing.

"Of course I am, I was going to suggest it if Shikamaru hadn't done it anyway. Go ahead." Ino nodded and went to catch up with her teammates, even if they still bugged the crap out of her.

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"And that's everything? Nothing is being left out that I might need to know?" He just wasn't sure how this could have been possible. He looked at Yamato and then to Kurenai, and when he saw that neither of them showed any signs of wanting to respond, he knew for sure and it disgusted him.

He had been fooled. No, he was outsmarted. To think that Vega could've done something this elaborate and thoroughly planned and he had no idea of it happening. It would forever be a sign of his weakness.

"Were there any remains left? A body that we can pick up to confirm they are indeed dead?"

Yamato shook his head. "No sir. I made sure of that." Arashi just had to take one look in Yamato's eyes to know what he was talking about. It wasn't a matter of the bodies not being found might mean they are alive, it was a matter of IF you could find the bodies at all. "On the note of your son, his exploits in the battle seem to be the only reason he hasn't woken up yet. They said it was just an overload on his psyche. He has an acute fracture of the ulnar bone in his left arm and his body is just exhausted, but they said he will wake up either by the end of this day or sometime tomorrow. Hinata, however, they are unsure of."

"Hmm...I suppose someone should tell Hiashi about this." He gripped his wife's hand when she clenched it on his robe. He started to stand so that he could leave, choosing to do it himself, but Kurenai cleared her throat, rising up as well.

"I think I might be a better person to send to deliver this news to him. If you don't mind, hokage-sama." Kurenai bowed her head slightly but not so much that she couldn't look at him in his eyes. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully before agreeing. She straightened her posture and nodded, saying a quick farewell to everyone there for a few minutes till she could return with Hyuuga Hiashi. She disappeared in a poof of red petals, leaving the fragrance of roses in the air.

Arashi looked over to the bed of his son, seeing him sleeping peacefully, the rhythmic rising and dropping of his chest proving that he was alive, in case the heart monitor he was hooked up to didn't give him enough of an indication. If Naruto had done exactly what Yamato had told him he did, then this would be very intriguing indeed. As far as he was concerned, he had no knowledge that Naruto was trying to learn THAT technique. However, Yamato said he had used a 'spinning orb composed of his chakra.'

He then looked upon the form of Hyuuga Hinata, the girl who he thought of as a daughter while he watched her grow up along with his son. He owed her his gratitude for her selfless act of heroism. But at what price did that act come with? Not even the doctors knew 'exactly' what could be wrong, other than a severe concussion. His thoughts were jerked away as he heard the familiar sound of someone appearing from a teleporting technique. Turning, he saw Hyuuga Hiashi, along with Hyuuga Hizashi - his brother, Hanabi - his younger daughter, and Neji - his brother's son. The eyes they possessed seemed to be staring in judgment of everything around them, from the people gathered in the room, to the color of the paint on the walls. Arashi wondered, in amusement, if the paint might peel away in response to some of the harsher looks the Hyuugas could give.

Hiashi looked at each person, lingering on Arashi - giving him a respectful nod, as he did with Collette - and looked upon the unconscious form of Naruto and then traveled his gaze to his daughter. Moving to her bed's side, he took a seat in the chair placed there and held her hand, his face softening. Even the stoic head of the Hyuuga family had his tender side and in the face of this grim circumstance, Arashi could not blame him. He watched as Hizashi accompanied the Hyuuga head's side, placing his hand on the shoulder of his slightly older brother in a friendly gesture. Hanabi slowly crept her way over to the bed side, as if afraid of looking at Hinata while she was unconscious. Neji, however, stayed back...completely. He apparently would've preferred not doing this completely if not for his father. Hizashi waved for him to come to the bed side of Hinata but when Neji rolled his eyes, Hizashi sent a glare that could've frozen lava. The boy quickly made his way to the bed and did his best to look remorseful, but it was very apparent in his body language that he would've been happier staying home rather than even coming to the same hospital as his cousin.

Hiashi then turned to look at Collette, which surprised her a bit. "Excuse me, but if I may, can I be told of the extent of my daughter's injuries?" His voice held a respectful tone, hoping he would indeed get answers. But he did not have to go to such trouble in his pursuit for answers. She was more than willing to disclose that information, as long as it was to family.

"Yes. Well, her right shoulder joint is mush, the impact she made with the ground shattering the bones. We performed a procedure that took those fragments that were in her body and put them back together. This leads to a series of miniature fractures in her joint that will probably take a while to completely heal. With the injury to the shoulder joint comes, what we call, the fallout of such an injury. The impact was felt right on the joint and it sent a shockwave down her humerus and along her scapula, fracture lines taking place there. All in all, it should take about two-three weeks for the arm to become useable. The injury to her head is just as threatening as the injury to her arm was. A high level concussion was sustained and the swelling was actually rather severe. We were able to stop the swelling and the bleeding, the swelling will probably reduce by tomorrow to a safe level and make way for her to possibly wake up, but we just don't know when. It's a waiting game from this point, Hiashi-sama. But your daughter is strong, we believe she will recover quickly."

Neji refrained from making a comment, choosing to instead chuckle in amusement inwardly. He did not contain a smile that broke on his face, being noticeable to Hiashi and his father, but he didn't seem to notice. 'Hinata' and 'strong' in the same sentence just didn't sound right without an 'is not.'

Hiashi forced himself to calm down, resisting the dark urge to activate the seal on his nephew's head. He had made a sworn oath to change some 'things' ever since that incident. But there was also the issue of knowing one's place. Finally calming down, he turned to look upon Naruto. "And...how is your son, hokage-sama?" He didn't want to seem indecent and rude, only thinking about his daughter when others were injured.

"Well, Naruto is okay. The attack that caused the injury of your daughter did not harm Naruto in the same way. That was because, from what Yamato has told us, your daughter moved him out of the way of the main force. The injuries he sustained are a fractured arm, a strain on his chakra coils, and exhaustion - chakra, as well as physical. He should wake up within a day, we believe."

Hiashi took a serious look upon his face but it faded, becoming a smile, meaning for it to signify that he was happy that Naruto wasn't severely injured, but the smile was also revealed for another reason. He was proud of his daughter for what she did. Her selfless act showed that she was becoming quite a young woman, worthy of praise. His smile turned upon his daughter, his face showing that of a proud father, and a relieved parent. _'Get well soon, Hinata.'_

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He felt...awful.

That was putting it lightly, to say the truth. Very lightly. He was miserable. He wanted nothing more than to keep his eyes closed and continue basking in the darkness of slumber but that was what had woken him.

Images flashed through his mind as he slept. Strange ones. Odd ones. Ones that showed events he could not grasp or recall. He felt as if he were watching an eerie film that felt strangely familiar to him...but it wasn't about him.

_'God my head hurts'_ he thought to himself. It didn't help that there was mumbling and fervent whispers being passed about around him. He heard voices, but couldn't place the right voices with the right people. They all sounded so familiar too.

"...so she pushed him out of the way and took the brunt of the blow herself-" whispered one voice, but was cut off by a louder and more obnoxious voice.

"-and then he went psycho and beat them both up?" asked the voice, finishing the earlier statement.

"Yeah, well, he didn't defeat Vega but he had a part in it. Seriously, I didn't think the guy had it in him. But after it was all over, before we could ask anything, he passed out." This voice was almost as obnoxious as the previous voice, but it was masculine, the former being feminine. A shushing noise was then heard and the voices died down, barely even noticeable.

He decided to open his eyes, much to his discomfort, but he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep anymore. He was surprised to see that he was no longer in the forest where he was last at. Instead, there were dimmed fluorescent lights on a white roof, with curtain railings designed into it. His vision was still a bit hazy and his head was a good bit groggy but he forced himself to try and sit up, resulting in desperate pleas from his body to cease this action. _'Damn I feel so stiff.'_

"Finally awake, are you?" He looked towards the owner of the voice, surprised to see only one person in the room with him - and he thought he heard a number of voices, too. They must've been coming from outside the room, because he saw the door on the far side of the room cracked slightly. He then looked back in the direction of the earlier voice's owner, to see the familiar pale-skinned, gel-styled hair, and onyx eyes of his teammate, Uchiha Sasuke.

"Oh...it's only you." Sasuke literally face-faulted right there with a vein throbbing on his head.

"What do you mean, it's only me! You know I've been in this morbid room for over three hours, so show a little consideration." _'Gah, the nerve of him. He wakes up and doesn't miss a step. So much for showing him any compassion.'_

Naruto's eyes shined and sparkled, making Sasuke sweat from embarrassment, since he pretty much knew what Naruto was about to say. "Awwww...that's so sweet. I didn't know you cared so much, Sasuke-kun."

"Baka!" He then clamped his hands over his mouth and looked to Naruto's right to see if he disturbed something. Naruto followed his gaze...and a lump caught in his throat. He could only mutter out "Hinata."

She was lying in the bed, two pillows under her head and the familiar, sterilized white sheets of the hospital pulled over her, topped with numerous blankets. Seriously, did any hospital realize that all that covering was excessive? Numerous wires were tucked around her skin, an I.V. was in her left arm and the bag it was connected to dripped a clear liquid into the tube every five or so seconds. A beeping noise was heard coming from the heart monitor, the pulse being a little weaker than normal for a resting person. Bandages were wrapped around her head, from the middle of her face's right side to the top of her face's left side, and it looked as if her right arm was in a cast of some kind.

"You really care about her, huh?" Naruto jerked his head, much to his discomfort, to the sound of the voice. There, looking timid, was Sakura, carefully slipping in through the door. "Sorry. It's just I thought I heard voices so I checked to see and..." Naruto slowly lifted his right hand and waved dismissively towards her, taking note to be careful since his body was still stiff.

"Don't worry about it." He then flashed as big a grin as he could in his condition.

"Oh...okay then. Well...ummm...there are visitors here...alot of 'em actually. Do you wanna..." She trailed off, leaving the option in the air and totally up to him. He turned and looked Hinata again and then back to Sakura.

"I wouldn't mind, but what about her? We might wake her up." Sakura was actually grateful that someone was courteous to Hinata being asleep.

"Don't worry, I overheard your mom saying that she was given a heavy dosage of medicine to help with pain. She'll probably be out for another day, at least. And as long as we keep relatively quiet, we won't disturb her and we can have people in here." Sakura then waited patiently while Naruto thought about her words. He looked up to her and nodded. She then stepped outside the door for just a few moments and then came back in, followed by Kiba, Shino, Ino, Chouji, and Shikamaru.

Ino skipped over to his bed side and tried to hug him, but he stopped her, pointing to his left arm, which was wrapped up pretty tightly. She halted slightly, choosing instead to rub his head playfully while giggling. "Well, the hero finally awakens." She waited for him to acknowledge the compliment but when she didn't receive one, she looked at his face to see that he was confused.

"What do you mean?" he asked, thinking he heard her right but his head still in enough pain to cloud his judgment.

"What do you mean, what do I mean?" She was confused now, his question being a bit vague.

"I mean, what do you mean by 'the hero'?"

"Heh...I mean you, you goof." But he continued to look like he didn't understand, very confused, and almost scared. Shikamaru could sense the shifting mood of Naruto and decided to step in before things got odd.

"Naruto, what's the last thing you remember before you passed out." Everyone looked at him when he spoke up then to Naruto to await his response. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully with his good hand, trying to gather all of his thoughts from what happened.

"Well, I remember that huge guy, Garrett, making that attack that chased me and Hinata. Then...she moved me out of the way and herself into the way of the attack." He spoke the last part with pain and guilt, everyone feeling it. "Then...I just remember seeing her hit the ground and things started to get fuzzy from there. The last thing I remember is hearing Yamato's voice call out 'Watch out!' and holding Hinata...then...a blank." The images of what happened before he blanked were flooding him and he was feeling the same way he did back then. Shaking his head, he looked back up to see what the others thought of his words. He saw the eyes of those that were on the mission with him - except for Shino's, whose eyes were constantly hidden from view by those shades of his - and they all looked bewildered.

"Wait a minute, so you're telling me you don't remember a thing after that?" asked Kiba, his jaw hanging open, as if begging for someone to close it...or use it as target practice.

"No, I don't. I do remember Kurenai saying that Hinata was alive and then everything just got cloudy and I guess I fell asleep. But whatever must have happened in between that I've forgotten. Why, what happened?" Naruto's question was met with a mix of reactions, ranging from nervous inhibitance to bored annoyance.

"Figures...the one time this guy shows he can kick some ass and he forgets it." Kiba's statement was more directed, in a joking way, towards the rest of the group but it was also said in a way to make Naruto jealous that he couldn't remember his apparent exploits.

"Yeah...I guess. Well Naruto, to put it bluntly, you defeated Garrett. Whatever that technique was that you used, it did a number on him. He couldn't get up from it." Sasuke's statement, if you payed close enough attention to it, held a tinge of envy in it. The fact that Naruto couldn't remember how he did it was making it worse.

So they stayed there, for roughly an hour, before Arashi and Collette walked in, gaining a confusing look on Naruto's face. The reason it was confusing was because you couldn't tell whether he was scared, shocked, happy, sad, or anything else inbetween. It was sort of blank and yet it wasn't. Arashi walked to his bedside and ruffled his hair while his mother kissed him on the forehead, earning a blush from Naruto - and he glared at the rest of the people in the room, his glare being intended as a silent threat promising injury if they said anything. Kiba had to contain himself but he knew he would get a lot of mileage out of that in the future.

His mom told him about the extent of his injuries, saying that a few more days of relaxing and his body would recover but his arm would need an extra week after that - and that was only if he didn't do anything to strain it. The cast wrapped around his arm radiated a warmth that he was told was healing chakra that had been put into the material and it's design. The normal fracture of an arm bone would take a normal individual six to eight weeks to fully recover, so of course a ninja's time of recovery was a lot shorter. But it would still be another two to three weeks for it to be healed; therefore, the wonder of medic nins.

She made a note of saying that she regretted having to do what she was about to do, but it was protocol. Having said that, she informed everyone that they had to leave for the evening, the time being past six o'clock. They all understood and were not about to argue any point pertaining to the matters of the hospital with one of the head nurses. Saying their farewells for this day, they all headed out the door, making sure they informed Naruto that they would visit him tomorrow. Smiling warmly at their sign of commoraderie, he wished them all a good night.

Left with only his mother, his father, and Hinata, who was still unconscious, Naruto's mind lingered on the words of his friends, their departure only allowing the comments made as they discussed the events of the mission to sink in. Naruto was still red in the face, the details of one of the events he could not recall embarrassing him. He could not comprehend how well Sakura and Kiba's personalities fit together in a neat little package that spelled doom for those unfortunate enough to be caught in the midst of their most mischievous of moments. Naruto had been the victim this time around and he couldn't help but feel that it might only get worse over time.

Arashi carefully eyed his son, seeing the boy lose focus and go into a thought-filled mindframe. Whatever was being thought by Naruto at this point was only meant for his mind, but Arashi was still curious and anxious. He wanted to know how Naruto knew how to do the things he did, but maybe that would come in time. He saw that his wife was becoming slightly agitated while looking at him. Arashi smiled at her and nodded his head in understanding.

Collette was a woman of protocols and standards. When something was known as a rule or a law, she expected everyone to obey that rule or law while in her presence. Assuming that it was a result of her training at the temple, he accepted it. Standing up and stretching, he yawned loudly, jerking Naruto out of his thoughts and looking up at him in surprise.

"Well Naruto. Guess this is good night. Hope you sleep good. I'll be by tomorrow to visit with Jiraiya alright? And then we can have a little..._talk_ about some things. Okay?" He looked down at his son with a reassuring smile, trying to keep his spirits up.

"Mmhmm, and I'm gonna stick around and do a quick check up on you and Hinata before I leave for the evening." She then turned to look at Arashi. "See you when I get home." They quickly kissed and then he turned to leave but was stopped by Naruto.

"Good night, dad." Naruto looked up at him and flashed him the biggest smile he could muster. Arashi only wished it could be genuine, the smile his son was using was anything but that. Because when Naruto's eyes opened to look at him, Arashi could see the smile did not reach his eyes. It wasn't because of sadness, he could tell that. It was something else. Something was troubling him and his mind.

"Good night, Naruto. See you tomorrow." Walking out of the room, he looked back just once, to see Naruto go back to thinking deeply.

With Arashi no longer in the room, Collette set about with her usual tasks as one of the head nurses. She checked up on the pulse, blood pressure, I.V. bags, etc., etc. She went from Naruto on to Hinata and checked on the same things but also gave her a small injection. She explained it was for the pain and it would also help her stay asleep.

"How long till she wakes up?" he asked her with hope.

"Well, since all trained ninjas tend to recover quickly, I'd say maybe tomorrow or the day after but I can't be too sure. Just be patient, it'll all work out in the end. You, however, need to let your medicine take effect and get some sleep." She then injected the same medicine into his I.V. tubes, the strange color of the liquid making Naruto feel sick to his stomach. After his medicine was injected into the tubes which would lead to it spreading throughout his bloodstream, he looked over one more time at Hinata.

"I hope it is soon. I need to ask her something. And it's driving me crazy." His last sentence was said with frustration and through gritted teeth. His eyes were starting to get heavy and he was understanding why Sakura said that the medicine Hinata was being given was keeping her asleep. It worked fast and hard, sending him to a slumber filled with the strange dreams again.

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Arashi and Jiraiya were sitting across from each other, sipping from a couple of small cups filled with sake, with hopes that it would alleviate the stress of the day. Arashi had been recalling the events of the mission that had been told to him by Yamato and passing on every detail to Jiraiya and he was now letting it all sink in.

Jiraiya didn't know that Naruto was that far along. Back when Naruto first learned how to walk on water and he taught him the new chakra control exercise, he intended for it to tease him. The chakra control technique and the way you were meant to go about learning it was not meant to be step-by-step instructions of how to use the rasengan. But if that was what happened, then it happened. It wouldn't be the first time that Naruto had surprised him.

Turning his thoughts to the opponents the teams faced, he found something nagging at him. It kept nagging at him and nagging at him, threatening to interfere with his thoughts until he figured this out. _'That name...Garrett. Why does it sound so...familiar...'_ He then jerked his head up, his attention fully on Arashi and hoping to get the same result out of him. "Arashi, we may have a problem. I think I just thought of something...something you may want to be aware of."

"What is it Jiraiya?" Arashi did not like the tone in his voice. That tone was usually reserved for bad news and he hated bad news.

"Tell me, Arashi. What do you, yourself, know about the man known as Garrett?"

"Well, I heard he was a loose cannon who killed his own team mates, he's committed many crimes, and he's-" but he was cut off by Jiraiya, who laughed at him. Arashi thought that that was quite rude, laughing at someone when they were being serious.

"Come on, Arashi. Tell me something you know outside of his 'Bingo Book' information." He looked his pupil in the eyes, waiting for an intelligent answer.

"Well, I'm not sure what you are trying to get at. If you want to say something, say it, because quite frankly, I'm in no mood for riddles or anything of the sort." He wasn't angry or anything like that, but he was annoyed.

"Well, I'll tell you something that I know of outside of his bingo book info. His title as 'Stonebear' was passed on to him by people who had seen his size and knew of his abilities, but they did not know of his personality. I have heard of some rumors though during my travels. His personality was of an untameable spirit. He was aggressive and longed for competition and hunted for confrontation. Trouble wouldn't find him, he would find it, on purpose. His personality does not reflect a bear but a different animal, one more associated with Rock Country than a bear." Jiraiya finished and then took a sip of his sake and waited. His pupil was smart and he should figure the rest out on his own, if Jiraiya was correct.

Arashi was already processing the information and did not like it one bit. The last part was the thing he desperately did not want to hear but apparently could not avoid at this point. As was the case of Fire Country and the infamous demon fox, known as Kyuubi, Rock Country had their own creature...a bull.

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Well, that certainly was long, now wasn't it. As you probably noticed, I named this chapter part one, so yes, that means there will be a part two, it will be the next chapter and it will continue where this left off. It's just that this chapter would probably end up being beyong 20,000 words or so if I did not find a good stopping point. So I decided to end on as best a cliffie as possible. Hope you don't run because the next chapter will have many things told, explained, and revealed. For suspense and plot fans, you'll definitely love the next chapter. For those of you who like character growth and some fluff, you'll like the next chapter as well. It might not be for another week though. So I hope you stick around till then. Once again, thank you all.

Now onto the preview:

In light of recent events, Arashi takes a stand and makes a huge decision. The other shinobi continue to visit Naruto and Hinata. And in the shadows, amidst all the happenings of Konoha and Fire Country, a figure stands back and waits for his moment. A cloud of crimson hangs in the air, casting a foreboding shadow.


	11. Chapter 11

Welcome back everyone to another chapter. You will all be happy to know that I am not dead but rather injured. I developed tendonitis in my arm near my elbow joint and it hurts like hell. But I'm fighting through it to bring you the next chapter. Injured arm be damned, I will give you this next chapter. Onto the chapter in question, this is going to push me beyond 100,000 words because it is a doozy. But I figured that by not giving you an update for a couple of weeks that the least I could do was make up for it and so here is my longest chapter by far.

By the way, thank you all for your continued support and reviews. It means alot to me, really it does. For my first story to have had this much success shows me that maybe I do, indeed, have a future as a writer. I thank each and every single one of you who have read this story so far. As for the contents of this chapter: fluff fans rejoice (although I do apologize for the bit of angst I ended up including in the chapter), drama fans have fun, suspense fans have a blast and action fans be patient - your time will come soon ;)

Chapter Eleven - The Aftermath part two

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With the evening came the setting of the sun, the shadows it cast looming across the ground. Four people sporting the headbands of Konoha had set up a camp and were keeping their eyes peered on the borderline of Fire Country.

These squads were set up everywhere since the great war, the watchful eyes of Konoha's best in stealth and information gathering sent out to mind the borders. The four men at this particular post had been there for the past three days and were going to be there for a few more until their relief arrived. The men were disgruntled, the border they were asked to watch not being one of a very dangerous enemy. On the contrary, Tea Country only had passers-by with items and goods, hoping to find a good market in Konoha or someplace in Fire Country before they would be on their way back to their homes in Tea.

Eating some cooked meat from a couple of animals they hunted down this evening, they were exchanging small talk and humorous tales, trying their best to keep each other amused so that tensions wiouldn't raise. Little did they know that they were being watched.

Before they even had time to register the presence, it was over. A strange gathering of golden feathers sprinkled and floated down on top of them and made them fall asleep. Three figures walked out of the shadows and examined the area they were now in. A grunt came from one individual, wrapped in a strange cloak of red clouds. The reason he appeared strange was the fact that he was on all fours. Where one would guess his head might be was topped with a straw hat with strange jewels hanging from the rim of the hat. "That's what you call 'handling' them? Psh...You should've let me kill them. It would've been too easy."

Another one of the cloaked figures chuckled sinisterly, his straw hat shaking on his head as the man continued his jovial display. Also clothed in a cloak of red clouds, this one seemed infinitely more ominous. "As impatient as always. You seem to forget that we have to deal with this situation carefully. The Yondaime is quite a pesky adversary if you raise his ire. My apprentice did the most reasonable thing."

The 'apprentice' had on a black uniform, just like his companions, but it was not covered with red clouds. Instead, it was a robe, a ceremonial one at that, that had silver edging along the material and odd, complex designs sewn into it with captivating purple threading. Though his head was covered by a hood on the robe, you could see the face of a young man with glasses on his face. He reached up and pushed them further onto the bridge of his nose and smiled confidently. "Thank you, my master. Now, where do we go from here?"

"To find the source of that odd signature." spoke the young man's _'master,' _who was the one standing tall and lankishly.

The one on all fours looked up to the lankish one with an incredulous stare. "Do you _really_ think this is one of them?"

"Hmm...whether it is or it isn't waits to be determined. Either way, it is worth a look." Then the man smiled devilishly and licked his lips hungrily.

"Then lead the way." And so the three men took off into the woods as fast as they could, doing everything in their power to conceal their presence as they passed by close to villages and occupied territories.

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Darkness, then light, then faded light into darkness, then new light.

This process repeated itself in the mind of a sleeping individual. This person saw flashes appear briefly in their eyes, even though they weren't open. The sights the person saw aroused strong feelings.

A large man stood with glowing hands and struck the ground. The crack that seemed to hunt down this person and their friend left them in fright. Then the person's friend moved them out of the way. Horror. This person was going to put themselves in harm's way to protect them...again.

_'Not this time. This time, I protect you.'_ The words echoed in the individuals head as they moved the other person out of the way. The last thing this image left in the mind of the person seeing it was someone holding them, cradling them, rocking them, and a desperate voice calling their name.

_"HINATA!"_

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Her mind was starting to clear up, the cloudiness and heaviness that seemed to be there before was now gone. Where she could only feel the familiarity of her own dream world, she now could tell that she had been unconscious for a while. Everything she tried to will herself to do was with difficulty. Before she tried to open her eyes, her mind did a small diagnosis of her own condition.

There was something attached to her left arm, being a bit uncomfortable. She also felt something wrapped around her head, the pressure being a bit tight and it hurt a bit. Next was a strange sensation coming from her right shoulder. It felt as if it wasn't even there. And it hurt a great deal, the pain being quite intense. She idly wondered how she had stayed unconscious the way she did with this kind of pain. If it was even real.

She had had dreams before where she saw herself get injured or sustain a wound and would then wake up, feeling it. There would be no sign of the injury but the pain could still be felt. She came to the conclusion that the only way for her to know for sure if the pain was real or not would be to open her eyes. She attempted this, and felt a bit queasy when the lids of her eyes seemed to be stuck closed by some sort of gunk. It was the same stuff you would get if you slept for a while, but never before had she had that much on her eyes. _'Just how long was I out?'_ she questioned herself inwardly. Throwing away some of her thoughts, she began the task of opening her eyes. It may sound like an easy task but it was considerably difficult given her circumstances.

Little did she know was that a particular person next to her was also struggling with the same dilemma. Should he wake up and be bored, while waiting for his friend to awaken? Or should he just go back to sleep and enjoy the chance? Deciding that he wouldn't be able to get back to a deep sleep again, he chose to open his eyes. The familiar 'beep'ing of the heart monitor attached to his roommate brought his attention to focus on her.

"Good morning, Hinata-chan" he said to her out loud, not thinking that she was awake as well as not thinking that it might be considered weird. He had learned that even though people sleep, they can still hear people on the outside sometimes. So using that as his excuse, he shoved away any thoughts of being embarrassed and decided to speak to his friend. Maybe she would hear him and wake up. "Hope you slept good last night." He stretched in his hospital bed, making sure to avoid doing anything with his left arm, unless he liked pain. He then turned to her but she didn't look any different than she did yesterday. So he turned back around and looked up at the ceiling.

She was awake however, and she nearly shrieked in sudden shock and surprise at hearing a voice. But she relaxed when her mind recognized the voice as being Naruto's. Not sure of how to respond to him, she found that she did not have to since he continued speaking.

"I hope you wake up today...it's boring...and strangely enough...quiet without you around." He looked to her and saw that her face was flushed a little, which confused him. He then became aware of an increase in the rate of beeps the heart monitor was emitting. Hoping that she wasn't suddenly getting worse, Naruto warred with himself on whether or not to get a doctor to come in and check on her.

Hinata now found this somewhat enjoyable. Naruto apparently didn't realize that she was awake but was speaking to her as if she were. But after hanging around with him for the amount of time she did, she realized that he wouldn't admit something like that around her. He always teased her on how she was quiet so for him to say it was quiet without her there, it left an amusing image in her head. He was bored, more than anything, and she could just imagine him sitting there with a pout on his face, ready to throw a tantrum.

A conflict then ensued in her head. Should she open her eyes and give him a surprise...or should she continue playing the role of the unconscious friend, with the possible result of him saying something that he might not want to say when she would be awake? What that could be, she didn't know, but some things came to mind, and for some reason they thrilled her.

Whatever had gotten into her, it didn't last. She repeated his words over and over in her head, and she caught onto something. He was sad too, and she didn't like that. If she continued to participate in this game then Naruto would continue to be sad. So with that thought planted in her head, she forced her eyes open. The gunk finally gave out and she was able to see past her lids, but that was a mistake. Her eyes were attacked by the sudden brightness around her. The lights that were on the roof of the place she was in assaulted her vision, her eyes not capable of adjusting to the sudden difference. She had her eyes closed for a good amount of time and therefore, her eyes only saw darkness, even if her mind saw light from her dreams and images. Shutting her eyes closed tightly, she dared herself to open them again but a lot slower this time around. Slowly, the light crept into her vision, stinging her eyes, but she fought through the discomfort, the light becoming more bearable as she opened her eyes more and more. Eventually she got them open fully and darted them around, trying to find the source of the voice. She started to worry that it might have been a hallucination but then she heard a gasp come from her left.

Naruto had stopped wondering if he should get a nurse when the noise from the monitor slowed back down to a more comfortable area and her flushing lightened up and he was now in the process of looking out the window, which was positioned on the wall close to Hinata's right side. Gazing at the brilliance of the morning sky, a peaceful and gorgeous blue with fluffy, marshmallow-like clouds that seemed to flow through each other. He stayed there, watching them, until a sudden movement caught his attention. Looking in the direction, he saw Hinata's eyes open somewhat, and he struggled to catch his breath as a lump got caught in his throat.

"Hi...Hinata-chan?" he asked in a pleading tone, hoping that his eyes hadn't pulled a prank on him. It wouldn't be the first time but then again, that had been something silly. This was far more serious than some damn bowl of delicious ramen that he envisioned when he was really hungry one day.

"Ohayo...Naruto-kun" she said to him in response, her voice a bit quieter than she was used to. Her voice was a bit croaky and her throat was so dry.

Naruto didn't know what to think or do. His nature had him wanting to go over and embrace his best friend but a little thing known as common sense reared it's head, telling the blonde shinobi that it wasn't the right situation for something like that. Both of them were not in the position to receive any kind of physical friendly gestures like hugs and playful horsing around. So Naruto just succumbed to the voice of reason and resolved himself to contain his energy that threatened to burst from the boy in a solidified form and assault anyone in it's exuberant path.

Now gazing at his friend, he was unsure of what to do or say at this point. The waiting game was over and surprisingly fast. He had hoped that she would wake up today but this was early and a bit earlier than he expected. Now that she was awake, a swarm of things confronted his cloudy and confused mind, making him desire to seek clarity. But what should he say? Did he want to ask a question? It hurt his head at this point and he couldn't help but rub his head in aggravation with his one good hand.

Hinata saw in the corner of her allowed vision thanks to the tension in her neck the tell-tale signs of frustration from Naruto. She had to supress a giggle again and chose instead to let a smile creep onto her face, despite the unpleasant and unwelcome pain in her body. Trying her best to ignore it for now in favor of communicating with him, she summoned all the power she held over her voice and tried to make it sound as healthy and normal as was possible for her. Unfortunately, she failed. "Wh-What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" She inwardly winced at the sound of her dry throat, annoyed at how she couldn't produce any saliva to assist her parched mouth and throat.

Naruto heard her scratchy voice ask him the question but he was distracted by something. Not by the question and not by his thoughts, but by the small pitcher of water next to his bed. He reached out with his right arm and began to pour a glass of water but stopped when he saw her gazing at him with strangely wide eyes. He noticed a couple moments later that she wasn't actually staring at him but at the pitcher of water he was holding and started to piece the puzzle together...and almost started to laugh hysterically. The look she was giving him was one of silent and desperate pleading. He could tell that she struggled to speak and if he was correct - even though he wasn't very knowledgeable in the medical field - then Hinata needed something moist right now.

He finished pouring the glass and held it but then turned to look at her. Shrugging his shoulders, which caused Hinata to look at him curiously, he edged his way to the edge of the bed and slung his legs gingerly over the side and carefully stood up. After a few quick moments of him trying to regain his balance - and of a further curious and confused gaze from Hinata - he took cautious steps towards her and offered her his glass.

"N-Naruto-kun?" She didn't want to accept it from him since he apparently started to pour that for himself. Another reason was because she had one good arm from what she could tell, and for some reason her body just didn't want to do much of anything.

She also took the time to notice that Naruto was also in a pretty bad way himself. His left arm was in a sling and wrapped in a cast and his face looked unusually pale and...greasy...as was his hair. She could only guess that she was in a similar state, as far as cleanliness went, and the feeling from her head and right arm didn't give her much hope that she was any better off physically. But now, here was Naruto, looking like he was in poor shape, and he was standing there, no longer attached to any cords or wires that were on his body to begin with - since he decided to discard them rather recklessly when they seemed to hold him back from getting up - and he was offering her a drink.

"Don't worry about it. Besides, you looked like you wanted some water and well...Just drink." He didn't know why he seemed a bit uncomfortable in this situation but he did, and he didn't like it. When she didn't take it and drink, he got a little impatient. "What's wrong?"

"U-Um...I...c-can't" she said, fading out at the end. She hated this feeling, especially after the oath she had made with herself back at the hot springs. But she couldn't help it. Her body, for some reason, was uncooperative.

Naruto heard her, despite how feeble her vocal output had become by this point and wanted to kick himself. He had successfully turned himself into a heel already. "Gomen, gomen, Hinata-chan. I didn't think about that. Here." he said to her as he moved closer to the head of her hospital bed and tipped the glass of water against her dry, eager lips and she drank and swallowed the water with enthusiasm, the loud gulping noises being a bit strange since they were coming from the normally reserved Hyuuga girl.

At this moment, however, she didn't care about that. She just wanted to savor this moment. After she finished the glass, which she smiled happily and thankfully at him, they heard the door open to their room and Naruto almost freaked out when he saw his mother walk through with her jaw dropped in surprise and shock.

"Uzumaki Naruto, what do you think you are doing out of your bed! Lay back down right this instant. You will not push this, you understand me?" She was red in the face, but not with furious anger. It was out of angered worry. What surprised her though was the fact that Naruto actually protested and defended himself.

"But...Hinata needed a drink and she couldn't get one herself so I - " but he was cut off by his mother's heavy, agitated breathing. He gulped and moved as quickly as he could to the bed and sat back down, while his mother came and hooked back up the wires and cords back where they belonged, the machines they belonged to reading off the data it collected.

She was so agitated with Naruto that she didn't realize exactly what he had said until she was done reapplying the wires and cords back on his body. She then turned around and saw the young girl's eyes opened and looking at her in a rather sheepish, shy way. Then it clicked...Hinata was awake.

"Oh, you are awake Hinata-chan. Welcome back. Are you in any discomfort?" She went through the mandatory questions before she went on to the more personal ones she wanted to ask.

"Um...don't be mad at Naruto-kun, okay? He just gave me a drink of water." She then looked back down, the powerful gaze of Collette making her feel powerless right now.

"Hmm...fine." When she said that, she heard Naruto sigh in relief behind her. "But...Naruto, you can't just go around trying to be Mr. Hero." Naruto was about to speak in defense until she cut him off again. "I understand that you did that for Hinata but you shouldn't push yourself and possibly make yourself worse. That's why the nurses are here. Call for one or use the call button." She then took a deep breath and calmed herself. "But that was very nice of you, Naruto." Turning back to Hinata, she continued with her earlier questioning. "Now that that has been cleared up, Hinata, would you be willing to tell me now if you are in any pain?"

It is common for someone who is used to being independent with certain familiar tasks and circumstances to feel even a little shy and embarrassed about asking for assistance. This was Hinata's dilemma at the moment. But she dismissed such feelings in favor of listening to reason. If you were injured and you had a nurse in your room offering help in relieving that pain, you should take it.

"Hai..um...I feel like my body is sore all over and - "

"That's natural, Hinata-chan. You've been out for a while now and you took a pretty rough tumble. Your right arm is useless for the next 3-4 weeks and you suffered a concussion. It's probably the concussion that is making you feel that you are hurting all over. I'll get you some morphine and that should keep you from feeling a great deal of pain, alright?" It was routine to issue someone in as much pain as Hinata was probably in morphine, the pain killer of all pain killers. One would ask why Collette wouldn't simply just use her medical chakra to alleviate the pain but it just wouldn't work like that.

Hinata's mind was trading blows with itself as it struggled in a war. Should she accept the drug and be relieved from the pain she was feeling or should she ask for something lighter that might keep her awake. She was no expert in the medical field but she wasn't a novice either. Long ago, when she had first met Naruto and saw him burn his hands from trying so hard to perform that technique he was taught, she had asked for permission to do some research in the family's library. There, she had found a number of books and scrolls on medical arts, supplies, and abilities. She had learned to make the cream that she gave him with the help of the scrolls and books, but they had also taught her a number of things about medicines. Morphine has a rather drastic drawback of heavy drowsiness, and she did not want that, at least not right now. She wanted to stay awake after being asleep for so long.

"Gomen, but is there anything that won't put me to sleep...that you can use?" Her voice had become quiet again, and was also reserved. She didn't want to be too much trouble for the woman who was taking care of her.

"Well, I would if I could. There are drugs that could work almost as well as morphine without the side effect, but unfortunately, we have no such substance in this medical facility." At seeing the girl's head lower even more, she came up with an idea. "But I could give you the morphine with some amphetamine, if you are sure you want to be awake?" It wasn't that bad of an idea, in her opinion. The morphine would help with the pain and the amphetamine would help with the drowsiness.

"Hai, I am. Arigatou, Collette-sama." Her eyes were back to being focused on Collette's eyes, as she suddenly found them very warm and inviting, instead of overbearing. Collette went off to get the things she needed and said she would be back in a few minutes. Now here they were, left alone again, and the feel of the area suddenly became awkward.

Naruto was trying his best to keep his mind from asking the one question he did want to ask but was afraid to ask. If he did ask the question, things might become weird and awkward. But he couldn't stop himself. He had to know. "Hinata?"

She inwardly winced again, this time from the fact that he hadn't used the suffix she was accustomed to. "Y-yes, Naruto-kun?"

"I-" but he was cut off...yet again - much to his annoyance - by the intrusion of another party. But this person was not who they were expecting.

"Good, you're both awake." Turning to the voice, Naruto saw the familiar face of Sasuke, yet again, there when he was just recovering from sleep. How could one person's timing be that uncanny? "Now I won't have to wait around and be bored."

"Well, I apologize that your teammates are such inconveniences for you, teme." Naruto wanted to go over to him and punch him but he was afraid of his mother and what she might do to him if he got up from the bed again without permission.

Choosing to ignore his blonde teammate, he turned his attention to the indigo-blue-haired Hinata and actually showed concern. "So Hinata, how are you feeling today?"

She was slightly startled by Sasuke's question towards her. She was amused by the way Naruto and Sasuke seemed to not miss a beat. Some would say that the two boys were acting childish but it was just how they acted towards each other. Remembering that Sasuke had asked her a question, she shook away her thoughts and responded. "I'm a bit sore but I think I will be fine." She partially lied on the pain area of her comment. She wasn't a little sore, she was very sore, and was hoping the medicine she was supposed to receive would help. As though Collette heard her thoughts, she walked into the room, gesturing for Sasuke to take a seat in the room while she took care of Hinata and her medication. Injecting the liquid that Hinata guessed was the morphine first into her IV tubes, she then did the same thing with a clear looking liquid. Collette explained that it was water-soluable amphetamine and it wouldn't be as harsh on her body but this was the only time she was doing it. She continued on with her speech about how the body recovered quicker while asleep.

Thanking Collette, she watched as the woman handed Naruto a cup of pills and watched him as he swallowed them down with the help of a glass of water. Collette then told all of them that Arashi, the Hokage, would be making a stop by around noon to make an announcement regarding the mission. Of course, Team Eight would be there too, so she told them to expect more company in a couple of hours. "Also, I know that it is not the most tasty thing in the world but please eat your breakfast." She then turned around and left out the door.

Now left alone, Hinata found the silence that ensued quite awkward and was wondering what could be done. A thought then clicked in her head and she turned her attention to Naruto. "Naruto-kun, weren't you going to tell me something before you were...interrupted." She looked at him a little expectantly, a little desperate for something to curve the weirdness of the silence.

Naruto heard her question and looked at her, then looked at Sasuke very quickly, then back to her and wondered to himself. He didn't want to ask the question while Sasuke was around. He began poking at his bouncy eggs that he thought were scrambled but couldn't tell, trying to find the right way to word this. "Guess I forgot. Sorry Hinata." He then forced some of the eggs into his mouth and cringed at the taste it left. He forced himself to swallow it and almost gagged at that moment. "This stuff is horrible." He muttered in a low voice.

Hinata thought about what Naruto said that he forgot it and decided to drop it. If he couldn't remember, then he couldn't remember. The morning went by like this as they waited for whatever it was the Yondaime had to tell them and team eight. Surprisingly, Sasuke stayed in the room with them the whole time, even though he didn't seem to want to speak much. In Naruto's eyes, however, it meant a great deal for Sasuke to be there. It meant that they truly were a team now. More than that, they were all friends.

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Jiraiya was a bit surprised by what his current task was. He was told, this morning, to go to the home of the Inuzuka's and bring the woman known as Hana to him immediately. He was currently in the process of escorting her to the tower. She kept asking him what this was about but he kept replying with the same answer. "If I knew, I would've already told you." When they arrived, the guards ushered them in and they went to the floor of the Hokage's office. He called for them to enter and they approached his desk. He was unusually unnerved today and his body language showed it. He tapped the head of a pen against his desk in a nervous manner and continued to do so as if the two before him were the ones making him nervous.

He suddenly looked up, seemingly coming out of a daydream and looked at them before something seemed to click in his mind. "Ah yes, Inuzuka Hana, correct?" She nodded. "Good, I have a favor to ask of you. Now, do you have a good supply of ready dogs?" She nodded again. "Good, then I need to ask you for a huge favor for the village. I need four of your fastest dogs to deliver messages to key areas in Wave Country. I need them to track down Kakashi and his group. They should be almost finished and the rest of the job can be finished when I am ready to send more shinobi into the country. But in light of recent events, I am forced to recall all the forces from Wave right now. Do you think your animals can do it?"

"Hai. It is an honor to be trusted with such an important task, Hokage-sama. I assure you, my dogs will not let you down."

Arashi looked at her, judging her, and then got an even better idea. "How would you feel about going with the dogs. Consider it an insurance policy. I do not doubt your canine's abilities but I would much rather have a back-up plan in place, if you catch my drift." She nodded once again and he handed her the notification papers that she would need to hand to Kakashi and his team for the request to be authorized. Everyone healthy enough in Wave Country was supposed to make their way back to Konoha and be back inside the gates by the end of next week. That would give Kakashi enough time to track down all the Konoha shinobi in Wave and give them the notice. This would most likely not sit well with the civilians of Wave but right now, a weakness was more than evident in Fire Country and could be traced to Konoha. Arashi needed to patch up this weakness before it became noticeable to even worse foes.

After being briefed one more time on what her task was, Hana exited the office and made her way back to the house. Once again left in the presence of his pupil, he saw the anxiousness that had built up from the knowledge gained in the past couple of days. Jiraiya could only feel that things were going to get worse. This decision to pull a great number of their forces out of Wave Country could have a backlash effect that could rupture the bond established between the two countries.

Arashi kept thinking about his decision and what it might mean. But he had made up his mind. His village came first. Friendly ties could prove to be essential in the long run but the protection of his people were at the forefront of his agenda. Also, once the forces were back he could send more people out to assist the border patrols and ensure something like this doesn't happen again. Looking up at the wall clock, he saw that it was closing in on noon. Standing up, he grabbed eight documents that had some heavy item attached to them and three smaller, sealed envelopes and set them into a large envelope. At the curious glance from Jiraiya, Arashi just smiled teasingly, as if saying to the man that it was a secret. Telling him he was going to the hospital to give an announcement, Arashi tucked the envelope inside his robes and left the office.

The Yondaime could've simply just used his 'Shunshin' technique to zip over to the hospital, but he wanted to walk. _'The fresh air might do me some good'_ thought the hokage to himself. As he passed by people on the streets, they all seemed to stare in awe of him, which didn't help to relieve his tension. True he was the leader of the town but he wasn't some holy idol whose mere presence was a blessing. He did his best to smile at the villagers as he passed by, reminding himself that they were all a part of his family. As he saw the hospital come into view, he could only hope that things would return to normal and this whole mess could be forgotten with time. _'Well, here goes.'_

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"With the title as a shinobi of the leaf comes a great responsibility. The protection of the village, it's secrets, and it's prestige are expected and anticipated. The ninjas here today have lived up to this responsibility. In the face of grim and dire circumstances that could have threatened the country and it's inhabitants, you have all stood proud and strong, united for a common cause. The teamwork, courage, strength, and bravery that was shown set's a fine example for the future to model after and your village is eternally thankful for your efforts. Congratulations, Shinobi of the Leaf."

Upon the completion of the statement, Arashi looked around the room now full with all of the members of Team's Seven and Eight and smiled at his handiwork. The formal congratulatory statement had all the genin behaving in a nervous and embarrassed manner, some blushing, some looking away and at the floor or walls, some chuckling to themselves, and one particular blonde boy shaking his head in disappointment.

"Could you have said anything cornier, Otou-san?" he questioned him with wide-open sarcasm. The only problem with asking a question like that, in the manner he asked it, is that there is usually an opening for someone else to take advantage of. Naruto saw that look on his father's face and he knew he was going to regret asking that question.

"I _looooove _you, Naruto, and I'm _soooo_ proud of you." When he finished, Arashi rubbed his eyes as if he were shedding tears.

Naruto felt himself burning red in embarrassment and just hung his head while everyone else enjoyed a good laugh at his expense, even Hinata. He looked at her and mouthed the word 'traitor' at her which caused her to giggle even more. Pushing away his embarrassment at the moment, he chose to pay attention to his father since he was pulling out of his robes a rather large envelope. Opening it up, his father pulled out a sheet of paper that seemed to have a paper weight attached to it and started to look over it carefully. When his father spoke Shino's name, he handed the boy the sheet of paper and proceeded to do this with everyone, including Kurenai and Yamato, and he walked to Naruto's and Hinata's bedsides, delivering the document to them since they were bedridden.

Naruto was still grumbling to himself that he shouldn't be in the stupid bed. It's not like his legs were injured or anything. And he knew full well that the hospital would've already released him upon giving him the cast and he woke up. He was being given special treatment and that was making him fume silently. He wouldn't take it out on his parents but they should know better than to do that. Naruto constantly complained to them that he didn't want special treatment of any kind as he grew up and that was why he always hated those formal gatherings and parties.

Ignoring his frustration in favor of satisfying his curiosity, he took a good look at the document now in his hands. Reading over it carefully, he noticed that what was written on it was basically the same thing as the formal statement his father had given them all. What was intriguing was the fact that on the bottom of the paper was a metallic object that seemed as if it were glued to the piece of paper.

"As you all have probably noticed by now, the object at the bottom is a medal for going beyond the call of duty. You were assigned to a C-rank mission but you all willingly, when the situation became as fierce as it did, confronted your opponent's and therefore, participated in an A-rank mission. Before you all question why it became an A-rank mission by fighting those men, it was because they both were wanted men and notorious for particularly cruel actions against opposing, as well as fellow, shinobi and civilians. This medal is proof of your accomplishment." He looked towards Kurenai and Yamato and understood from their looks that they were surprised by receiving this medal. This just wasn't some reward you get for doing a good job, it was a symbol of heroism in the defense of the entire country. The two jounin, however, thought about the reward and the situation they narrowly avoided, and agreed that maybe the receiving of the medals was just.

"Also, I would like to state that for the next month missions will be cut down. This is for purposes that need not concern you but have to do with the approaching festival. Considering how some of you have received injuries and may be out of service for a while anyway, I am going to go ahead and give you all the month off from missions. With pay, of course." All the genin seemed a bit surprised at this and Arashi took note of that, deciding that a little bit of further divulgance wouldn't hurt. "When you are healthy enough, however, you can continue training and practicing. When the Festival of Fire passes, we will resume taking numerous mission requests and your vacation will be over. So by the end of this month, I expect you all to be back in action, understood?" When they didn't show any negative responses, he nodded his head at the two jounin and then turned to leave, but not before turning his head to where he could see them all and speak to them and speaking one last congratulations to them.

After his exit, all the genin seemed to explode out of giddiness. The pent-up energy that they had been stowing away during the entire speech lifted the spirits of everyone in the room. Yamato smiled and took notice of the envelope that the document's and medal's came in was still in the room, placed on a spare chair. He grabbed it and looked inside and found three envelopes. Removing them from the bigger envelope, he handed one to Kurenai, which was labeled 'To Team Eight' and he started opening the one that was labeled 'To Team Seven.' What was inside of the envelopes was a statement...a bank statement...of a staggering amount. He started to question the Hokage's judgment on the use of the village's funds but then remembered how he said they would be paid for the month off. Both he and Kurenai addressed the group and told them what their pay was and how it was to be split up between the four people in each team, both amounts being the same. Yamato then looked at the final envelope that read 'To Kurenai and Yamato.' Motioning to Kurenai, they told the genin they were leaving the room for a few moments and would be back in a little bit for a little bit of information gathering before they would leave for good and give them their free time.

Everyone's reactions varied upon the jounins' exit. Shino and Sasuke seemed to stay as stoic as they could while Kiba was on the verge of doing back flips, ranting about how much that money was going to help him. Sakura was sitting close to Hinata and decided to try and start a conversation with her while Naruto just watched everyone else, happy that they were all happy. He was happy too but he was happy for another reason. He wasn't the only one who received the medal and his team didn't receive a bigger payment. His father came through for him. Laying back, he found himself surprisingly exhausted all of a sudden. He was about to close his eyes when he heard Yamato and Kurenai walk back in and ask for the bank account numbers of all the genin. After managing to pry that delicate bit of information off of all the genin, their instructors told them they were going to go ahead and split the money up between all of them equally and deposit the money into each person's account. After leaving, Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up on end. Something bad was about to happen, he could just feel it.

"What's all this noise about." spoke a blonde-haired kunoichi who skipped into the room and nearly squealed when she saw Hinata awake. Managing to actually go straight to the girl's bedside without stopping to say hi to Sasuke, she started talking low with Hinata and Sakura, the latter and Ino occasionally giggling while Hinata would get redder and redder.

And where there was Ino, you could almost guarantee that Shikamaru and Chouji followed closely behind. Mainly because Ino threatened to take over their minds and make them dress in women's clothing while burning all their clothes if they wouldn't agree. Shikamaru, when he walked in, looked around lazily, noticed Hinata was awake, and made his way over there, Chouji right next to him. The two friends made their way over to the bedside and Shikamaru continued to prove that he just did not know how to talk to his blonde teammate.

"Why are you over here pestering Hinata while she is in this condition? She doesn't need you - " but he was cut off when he was smashed over the head with Ino's fist. The lump that followed suit was enough to make the boy mutter out something being troublesome while Hinata actually giggled again. "Well, how are you feeling now Hinata?" Everyone seemed to stop doing whatever it was they were doing in favor of paying attention to the action by Hinata's bed.

"I f-feel fine, but I'm still a bit sore." She bit her lip when she finished and looked away from everyone else. It wasn't out of embarrassment but actually it was out of annoyance for having to answer that question so many times today.

"Well, I hope you get better soon that way you can get out of this stuffy building. It's too cramped in here" spoke a nervous Chouji, who apparently had an issue with tight areas.

"You know, if you didn't eat so much, maybe you wouldn't feel cramped in here." Ino's words seemed to strike some sort of a chord in Chouji, since he lifted his brows curiously, but also dangerously, and persued enlightenment.

"What are you inferring, Ino?" asked the boy in a threatening manner. He was calm, nice, cool and collected amidst much animosity, but there was one thing he did not tolerate. And if Ino dared to say that one thing, all hell was going to break loose.

"What I mean is, you are f-" She was so close to saying the taboo word but thankfully for her, Shikamaru put his hand over her mouth. She was about to bite his hand when he pulled her close to him so he could whisper into her ear.

"Don't say what you were about to say, got it? One, Chouji tends to become..._active_...when someone tells him he is...well, you catch my drift. Two, insulting me and hitting me is one thing but if you insult my friend, you will deal with me, got it?" His words were low so that Chouji wouldn't be able to hear them and held a dangerous tone. His eyes also held that same feeling and Ino suddenly felt herself very regretful for her actions. She had always seen Shikamaru as a lazy boy that didn't seem to care about anything. The fact that he was willing to protect one of his friends surprised her and made her respect him. She was shocked to say the least. Two days in a row, Shikamaru had surprised her. When he let go of her mouth and allowed her to move away, everyone seemed to brace for an explosion, waiting to see the blonde's notorious temper in action, but it didn't happen. She instead turned to Chouji and surprised the entire room. "Sorry Chouji, I didn't mean anything by it, okay? I just tend to get a little hot-headed too easily. I'll try to get better at that." Then she flashed a truly genuine smile and sported it as she looked at Shikamaru and then stuck her tongue out at him. This resulted in a confused look from the Nara boy and burst of laughter from the room.

"Glad things seem to be getting back to normal...or as normal as they can be. On that subject, Hinata, have you suffered from the same effects as Naruto?" Chouji's question gained the spotlight from just about everyone there. Hinata looked confused as well since she didn't know what he was talking about. Shikamaru saw this too, body language being one of the easier things for him to tell about an individual.

"What he means, Hinata, is do you remember all of the things that happened on the mission before you were knocked unconscious. Just curious, since Naruto seemed to not be able to recall what happened after you were knocked unconscious."

Hinata darted her eyes from Shikamaru to Chouji to Sasuke to Naruto then back again, not sure of what she heard. "Ano, Naruto couldn't remember anything after **_I_** fell unconscious?" When Shikamaru nodded, she looked to Naruto for clarity. He nodded too but didn't speak. "W-What happened then?"

Sakura's jaw almost hit the floor and she got really upset all of a sudden. "You mean to tell me that you two (she said pointing at Sasuke and Naruto) have been in this room for so long and didn't tell her what happened?" When Naruto hung his head ashamedly and Sasuke seemed to avert his gaze away from Sakura's accusatory look, she put on the most mischievious of grins. Naruto felt that feeling again as his neck hairs stood up and could've sworn he felt a cold shiver shoot through his spine as if the cold hand of doom had swept over him.

Sakura then proceeded to divulge the details of what took place after Hinata fell unconscious, much to the chagrin of Naruto. As each sentence ended, he felt himself becoming more and more embarrassed as Sakura over-exaggerated his defense of Hinata. The peak of the moment and the height of his humiliation occurred when she repeated, word for word, what was said between Garrett and Naruto, from the question of where the strength was coming from, to Naruto's explanation. The blonde boy wanted nothing more than to be a turtle at this moment so he could hide inside a shell and away from everyone. He dared himself to look in the direction of Hinata and regretted it. Immediately he saw the effects and was horrified by what they could possibly mean.

Hinata was redder than she had ever been. Her blushing had been taken as just being Hinata and therefore Naruto found himself able to tolerate it. But this shade of red was borderline cherry. She seemed to shrink into the covers of the bed as well. Her mouth was quivering as though she wanted to say something but she couldn't find the strength to do so. Finally, her voice was heard and it was directed to everyone, but Naruto felt that it was intended for him. "N-N-Naruto-kun s-said that?"

Naruto didn't know what he should say. In one part of his mind, he knew that logically he shouldn't know so it shouldn't bother him so much if he couldn't remember it. On the other side of the argument, there was this voice inside of him that seemed to be confirming it. Naruto knew it by that point that it was true and he had no choice but to accept it. Whether or not he should confirm it for the indigo-haired girl was dashed as Ino seemed to burst like a giddy school girl. She squealed 'kawaii,' which caused Naruto to blush out of embarrassment again, which in turn caused Kiba to fall over in laughter. "Oh my god, this is rich. I'm gonna get a lot of mileage off this." He continued to snicker even as he received stares from Sasuke, Sakura, and Naruto.

"I think it shows a noble side to Naruto, not something we should laugh at" defended Ino, holding her head up high in mock arrogance. Naruto rolled his eyes, only to have them threaten to pop out when Shino decided to join the conversation.

"No matter how 'amusing' one might think his statement was, what did happen cannot be taken away from him." The boy then turned his head so that it looked like he was looking straight at Naruto. "You should not be ashamed of your actions, Naruto. You defended your fellow teammate and friend and nothing more could be asked out of you." When he finished, Shino turned to look at Kiba. Even though you couldn't see Shino's eyes or mouth, you could just tell that he was not pleased with Kiba's almost childish antics.

Naruto felt relieved after the words. Everyone seemed to be either registering Shino's words or were paying attention to the new attitude being emitted from the bug user. When Shino looked his way finally, Naruto mouthed a 'thank you' with a nod from the bug-user in reply and the boy stood up. Since he and Kiba were not that injured, they were gonna go spar. They invited Sakura but she said her ribs were still a good bit tender so they left with a courteous good-bye. Ino invited Sakura to come by the flower shop if she wanted to and invited Sasuke to do the same, who passed on that opportunity eagerly. Frowning a little, the two girls got up and left but not without bidding their own farewell. That left the two hospitalized shinobi with Shikamaru and Chouji, who had been their friends for a good while, and Sasuke, the teammate and quickly-developing friend. Naruto couldn't help but feel that it was strangely curious that the room would clear out that fast.

The truth was, everyone else felt that some space might be necessary. An awkward aura lingered in the air after Sakura's perpetual teasing and even though Shino's words assisted in the relief of some of the tension, it did not get rid of it all. As Sakura left down the hall towards the elevator, she silently hoped that her use of the speech Naruto had given would not have ill effects on the relationship between the two.

Shikamaru hummed to himself, not sure what to say. The only real noise being made in the room itself was the heart monitor and Chouji's bag of potato chips, which he offered to Naruto, who eagerly accepted, grabbing a handful. While they finished the bag, Shikamaru, who was a close friend to Hinata as well as Naruto, decided to shake the girl out of her thoughts. Hinata had, while everyone was leaving, been thinking deeply and hard about a lot of things and asking herself a lot of questions. When she heard Shikamaru talking to her she snapped her attention back to reality.

"There we go. Now that I have your attention, I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the drama show you were forced to endure. Our team...has it's quirks still, but we're trying to not kill each other."

"Oh, it's okay, Shikamaru-kun. You all didn't bother me."

"Yeah I know. Ino's pink-haired friend did. I haven't known Naruto as long as you, but I have known him long enough to know it is best to confront him if you want to know something...and be persistent about it. In the meantime, I'm gonna go ahead and leave you guys alone." Hinata looked a little taken back but didn't get a chance to edge in her opinion as the boy stood up and told Chouji he was leaving. Shikamaru then looked to Sasuke, who looked back at him, and they seemed to share a silent conversation. After a few moments, Sasuke closed his eyes to ponder something then opened his eyes and stood up.

"I'm gonna go ahead and leave as well." He looked at both Naruto and Hinata, who seemed a bit surprised - Naruto actually feeling that he was being abandoned - and looked to Shikamaru, who smirked and nodded at Sasuke. As he and Chouji left, Sasuke lingered a bit longer and turned to look at Naruto. Then the boy walked to the area of the hospital room that had a designated closet for personal belongings and blankets and such, and he opened the door to the area and reached into it, grabbing and revealing Naruto's windbreaker. Naruto, himself, was a bit curious as to what he was doing, until Sasuke reached into one of the pockets and revealed a scroll...his father's scroll. "Sorry, but yesterday while you two were both still asleep, I felt an odd chakra signature coming from within your jacket and this was the source. I couldn't open it to save my life and couldn't make it stop pulsing so here you go" he said tossing the scroll to Naruto before putting the windbreaker back into the closet.

"Oh..uh...thanks. Guess I'll see ya tomorrow then." Sasuke said he would and then left, the room feeling suddenly empty, despite the fact it wasn't. Naruto would've turned his attention to his only roommate when the scroll in his hands started to pulse rather violently, the ricocheting vibrations from the chakra being emitted from the parchment going through his hands and up his arms. He put a finger on the seal and sent a little of his chakra through the design, it lighting up and then bursting open, much to the surprise of Hinata, who was leaning over the side of her bed to get a better look. "You know, Hinata, curiosity may not have killed the cat, but it could get it hurt." He chuckled when she 'eep'ed and moved to be laying safely in the middle of the bed.

His statement was not meant as a threat. Since only he could read the scroll, her attempt at seeing what was on it was futile. As for the contents, well, if he didn't have any energy built up from staying confined to the bed and hospital room, he sure as hell had some now. The scroll now consisted of not only the first technique, which was the 'siphon' jutsu he had mastered, but also four new techniques that were surprisingly complex. It only took him a couple of minutes to quickly read over them, but the descriptions that followed the listing of the handseals required gave off an impression that these were techniques that were meant for the advanced and skilled of shinobi. He remembered his father telling him that the scroll was designed in a special way so that it would react to his presence. If he could only see one technique before this mission began and he could now see five, did that mean he had grown that strong? Maybe he would ask his father for his opinion before making any assumptions.

He looked over to his roommate and found himself somewhat content with the situation. No longer was that awkwardness hanging in the air and he probably knew what the reason for that was anyway. Whether or not he thought of Sakura as a friend does not take away from the fact that Naruto was thoroughly frustrated with her. He was one of those people who thought that people deserved a second chance to prove that they were not as they appeared.

In the academy, Sakura and Ino were friends with each other but they always seemed to fight and argue with each other. The reason...Sasuke. They both wanted the attention of the young Uchiha and kept making vows of undying loyalty to the 'love of their life.' The pink-haired girl had said at one point that she felt that her and Sasuke were soulmates. Naruto wanted to laugh at the childishness.

She was a complete fool if she believed that. Not because Naruto didn't think it wouldn't happen (even though he did think it was very improbable) but it was the sheer fact that she felt she had found her soulmate when she was still in the academy. Her enthusiasm was contagious, as well as amusing, but it could be hoped that she wouldn't try to pass on her views onto other people. Whatever gave her the inkling that she should just go out of her way to embarrass him and Hinata with that little display was not really welcome. Hell, he still couldn't confidently guarantee that he said those words in actuality. Hell, he didn't know why it was such a big deal - not just with Sakura and Ino (and even Kiba, who decided to get a gool laugh out of it) but also with him and Hinata.

Was she not his friend? Was she not his _best _friend? Was he not her friend? The answers to those questions was an emphatic positive. He would hope they were as close as siblings and that whatever he did he was doing what any other brother would do for their sister. He was so deep into his own thoughts that he did not register his mother entering the room to perform a check-up.

Collette started by double-checking the data from the monitors and comparing it to the data she recorded earlier today. Then she checked on Hinata's pain level. When the girl said she was starting to feel more and more of the pain, Collette told her she was going to give her something for the pain. Turning around, she then checked on his pain level. Naruto said he was doing fine with his pain and told her that he would be okay. Of course, this was just bravado and she knew it, informing him he would take his medication, as would Hinata take her's. She dismissed the complaint Hinata gave about wanting to stay awake, telling her she would take her medicine and get the rest she needed. She then turned around and left the room to get the supplies.

Hinata was a little upset at how Collette wouldn't grant her the favor of letting her stay awake. She really wanted to stay up and talk with Naruto but now with the nurse leaving to get the medicine, Hinata struggled with herself, fighting through any insecurities to try and tell Naruto exactly what she wanted to say. With limited time, she pushed aside any bashfullness or anything of the sort in favor of getting this off her mind. Looking at the boy, she became thankful for the fact that the strain that had been on her neck seemed to have loosened and gave her some relief. When she did get a good look at him, she saw him fidgeting with the edges of the scroll he had been looking at and thought, at first, that maybe she should leave him be since he seemed back to being deep in thought. But she knew if she didn't say this then it would plague her mind as she would sleep restlessly, even if it would be a forced rest. _'Okay Hinata, here you go.'_ "Naruto-kun?"

Though it was very quiet, he still managed to hear the soft voice of his friend call to him. It even surprised him that he managed to register that she said anything since he was so deep into his thoughts that he didn't realize he spaced out. Looking towards the source of the voice, he saw her looking at him but then avert her gaze away from locking eyes with him. She instead looked at the corner of his bed and began blushing slightly. He noticed that this trend of behavior usually came when she wanted to say something meaningful or important...that might be out of character. She would get this way in the academy when Iruka would call on her to answer a question out loud to the class. Taking careful note of this, he pushed his thoughts away in favor of paying more attention to her. "Yes Hinata-chan?"

She smiled a bit more and dropped her head but not in the usual way she would. She did it to hide the fact that she was smiling and blushing even more, happy over something as silly as a suffix. But him using the friendly suffix again made her happy and gave her confidence that what she was about to say needed to be said. "Th-thank you."

Curious would not describe it right now. No, he was confused, and if she were to look in his eyes she would probably see it. He wanted her to explain but she was never one to just talk unless given prodding. So he pushed...desiring answers. "Um...okay, but for what?"

"Well...for defending me...and...for what you said about me." She then pursed her lip, waiting for a response but not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"Well...you're welcome...I guess...but you know, I don't remember any of that so -" but he was cut off...yet again. He would've been irate after the umpteenth time from getting his sentences cut off in the past couple of days, but he bit his tongue and was actually a bit surprised by the fact that it was none other than the restrained, refrained, and quiet Hinata.

"You did not deny it either" she said looking up daringly, surprising herself with her sudden boldness.

Naruto was a bit stunned with her words. She was right. Through the entire retelling of the events, through all the embarrassing details, he had not tried to deny it. He never attempted. He started to ask himself why but then he responded to his question with another one. Why would he try to deny it? He didn't build up a reputation of being a person who didn't show emotion, though he was less expressive than others like Kiba and Sakura and Ino. He didn't have a reputation to uphold as the cold bastard of the ninja class. He was just Uzumaki Naruto. "You're right, I didn't deny it, did I?" He locked his gaze with her and smiled oddly, feeling a strangeness in doing so but it was a good kind of strange.

Hinata's eyes began to water and she felt it building up. She turned her gaze away from him so he wouldn't see and carefully brought her good hand uup to wipe at her eyes. She was so happy and she wondered if he understood how happy she was just knowing that he didn't want to deny the words that Sakura had told them Naruto said. She was important to him, someone so special that she was a piece of him. She had always seen Naruto as someone she could relate to, as someone she could talk to. But now he was more than that. He was someone she could confide in, he was someone she could relax around, he was someone who she could call friend. That was how she felt and she knew she at least had to be a friend to him in order for him to be around her as long as he had...but now she knew where she stood.

"Hey, Hinata-chan...anything wrong?" He saw her duck her head the way she did and then wipe at her face. Was she tired or in pain or crying? He didn't know but he didn't like the thought of the latter.

"N-No, Naruto-kun," she said while managing to hold onto her voice. "I'm fine." She then looked up and smiled at him, causing him to smile back.

"Hey, Hinata-chan?" When she 'hmm'ed in response, he felt himself getting angry over what he was about to do, but he knew he couldn't avoid asking her. It was eating at him and he had to know. "Hinata, why?"

She was honestly lost. What did he mean? What could be mean? Was he still asking about why she thanked him? Not wanting to answer and possibly sound like an idiot, she answered him with a question of her own. "Ano, what do you mean, Naruto-kun?"

"I mean...why did you get in the way?" He turned unexpectedly angry eyes on her, which had her draw back slightly. "You know, you wouldn't have been this hurt if you didn't move yourself in the way, so why did you do it? It hurt me so much when I saw you take the brunt of the blow because I wasn't able to do anything about it." She looked at him like she was hurt when it was him who should look and feel that way, and that only got him angrier. "You know why I became a ninja, Hinata? It wasn't just so I could get outside of my family's house or to become strong or because I was bored and suddenly decided on a whim to be a ninja because it might be fun. It was to learn what my father had learned. My father preached that a true shinobi is one who protects those around them." He was now shaking and his eyes were lowered so he wasn't looking into her, now hurt, eyes. "But I couldn't protect you. Instead...you moved yourself into the situation. Why? I never want to see my friends get hurt but you just...you...WHY?" The question came out a bit harsher than he meant for it to and he wanted to apologize for it, but he couldn't seem to find the desire to do so. It was something within him that had fractured when he saw those eyes of her's that day, the eyes that seemed to say 'Don't help me.' When he still hadn't got a response, he looked up to find something that he hadn't expected.

Instead of finding her struggling for an answer, instead of her looking taken aback, instead of her being nervous, he saw her hurt. Her eyes were watering and he regretted his decision to pursue this. He hated himself. Why was he so damn stupid to just approach the situation like that? But instead of her crying or her staying silent, she spoke up and surprised him yet again.

"Naruto-k-kun. That's not fair."

He looked at her a bit surprised and confused while she continued. "It's not fair that you...you tell me you become a sh-shinobi to protect your fr-friends...and expect me to not d-do the same thing." His mouth hung open as she kept going, not realizing how stupid he must've sounded, his reasoning sounding so dumb in the face of her reasoning. "I am a k-kunoichi as well and I saw you, as you had so many times as we grew up, step in to try and shield me and I...I just wanted to...for once...return the favor." The tears were now slowly falling out of her eyes and it pained him to know he had been the cause of those tears. But she didn't stop and Naruto guessed she couldn't stop. This seemed like it was bottled up and Naruto was letting her, for once, control the conversation. "I wanted to prove...that I had changed...that I was stronger...that I could defend myself...and when that time came...I wanted to protect you. I'm sorry if I made you w-worry, Naruto. But it's not fair...to say you don't want to see your friends get hurt...and not expect them...to do the same thing." She was on the verge of hiccuping by now and Naruto had had enough. He had caused this display and he was doing nothing to rectify the situation. While words seemed to fail him, his instincts kicked in and he did the only thing he thought of.

Cradling his left arm, he moved to the edge of the bed like he did this morning but this time he pulled the I.V. out of his arm, wincing a little at the unpleasant feeling it left in it's wake. He stood up gingerly and moved to the bed where his best friend lay and carefully felt for a place to sit comfortably. That spot ended up being on the other side of the bed, which he crawled onto and scooted to be closer to her. Normally this would be thought of as unusual and rather strange but to Naruto...it felt natural. He reached for the girl's good shoulder, not forgetting that the right shoulder was very injured, and gently squeezed, earning a sharp intake of breath.

Startled beyond belief, she realized that she had allowed herself to lose track of Naruto and that now, for some unexplainable reason, he was in the same bed as her. She would've complained, mainly because she did not want him to get in trouble with his mother, but also because right now, she was a bit flustered at him. But when he gently pulled her towards him, she let go of the tension and eased up, letting herself be pulled into a one-armed embrace. She blushed lightly as she felt Naruto pull her head to rest into his good shoulder. This was weird and different but it was strangely welcome. When Naruto spoke, it was low, since he was right next to her ears.

"I'm sorry, Hinata-chan. I just...find myself wanting...more and more...to hold onto the things I've gained so desperately that I am scared of losing them. So I make up for that fear with a constant desire and mantra that I live by. I am a shinobi to protect my friends and family and will do just that with every ounce of my power, if required. So when I saw you get hurt when I could've done something to prevent it, I just felt miserable. I never want to see you hurt and when I saw you hit the ground the way you did, I just felt horrible. My memory is scattered from there, but I know, for sure, that I felt weaker then than I ever had. You are my best friend and I felt that I had lost you...I'm sorry for losing it just now, I didn't mean any disrespect towards you or to offend you." She felt herself hang onto every word as they crawled in the recesses of her memory and forge a permanent spot for this moment. She luckily was able to breath and swallow while he spoke, finding it quite difficult as each word sunk in. "You are strong, Hinata-chan, and I want you to know that I am thankful."

She smiled brightly and managed to stop any more tears from flooding her eyes. She was happy, and very content at the moment. She found herself surprisingly at ease in this position, Naruto (a boy) being in the same bed as her and holding her, but it wasn't weird. She was relaxed, so very relaxed.

"Hinata-chan, I don't think I've ever said this but...thank you." When he didn't hear her respond, he moved his position so that he could see her face slightly and saw her eyes closed. _'She fell asleep huh? Oh well, Mom'll be pissed but...'_ and so Naruto moved and positioned himself so that he was laying close to the head of the bed and rested his back against the wall, an astounding amount of pillows being placed there for cushioning support, not feeling even slightly embarrassed for how this might look. For some reason, now that he had gotten that load off his mind and found Hinata's reasoning suitable, he was pretty tired. His eyelids became heavy and he let them close, not aware of the presence(s) outside the room that had snuck a peak at them.

In truth, two eavesdroppers had witnessed the whole scene unfold, cracking the door open slightly and managing to keep themselves unnoticed. Without their meddling, they saw Naruto and Hinata have one hell of an argument, one you wouldn't expect to happen between the two of them and it surprised the two spectators. You see, the two eavesdroppers were none other than Sakura and Ino, the blonde-haired girl proposing the idea to bring them flowers. Sakura agreed and so they came but when they were right outside the door, they heard the voice of Hinata, soft and quiet, as she said she was thankful for Naruto's actions. Then when the escalation ensued, they carefully cracked the door open to view the action. They were slightly outraged by Naruto's outburst, Sakura more than Ino because of the fact that Sakura knew why Hinata had done it. After the voices stopped, they started to peek in and saw Naruto getting off the bed, but that was when they heard a voice outside the door asking their business.

Collette had been held up by one of the newer nurses needing assistance and she was quite flustered that she could not bring the medication to her son and Hinata. So when she walked to their room and saw the spying blonde and pink haired girls, she began to let them feel her ire but quickly calmed down upon hearing they were there just bring flowers. Sakura had brought, of course, a Sakura blossom for Hinata and Naruto, while Ino brought a yellow rose for each of them - the yellow rose symbolizing eternal friendship. A bit upset that they asked her to be quiet and wait just a few moments, she started to lose her patience. But when Sakura pleaded with her and saw the odd look on the face of the girl, she complied. She didn't know why she caved but something about the look on the girl's face said that it was important that they stay out of the room. Being told in a whisper by Ino, Collette learned that Naruto and Hinata had some kind of quarrel and were in the process of making amends but after a few moments and the girls looked into the room, they both covered their mouths and Sakura squealed behind her hand about something being 'kawaii.' She had had enough of their childishness and walked in, only to see something rather unexpected. Her son and Hinata, asleep together.

While she was mad - very mad - with the fact that Naruto had once again gotten out of his bed, she just couldn't bring herself to break up this situation. This was unorthodox for her, to do what she was about to do, but she chose to ignore the violation of hospital conduct and leave them be. "Come on in girls and quietly put your flowers on the table there." She pointed to a table that stood close to the window and the girls shuffled into the room, afraid of making any noise that might ruin the moment. When they left the room, Collette left with them and unexplainably decided to put up the 'Do Not Disturb' sign. Two times today, Uzumaki Collette bent the rules and she didn't regret the decisions. _'Arashi, you are rubbing off on me.'_

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In a particularly decimated section of a forest, the evidence of a tremendous battle lay strewn across the ground. The debris and remnants eerie reminders of a ferocious battle. To the untrained eye, things would appear to be back to normal, at least as normal as it could get in a battlefield. But, the trained eye would be able to pick up that their was a definite disturbance still in the area. Something wasn't right.

On one patch of dirt, the earth looked as it should be. But if you looked closer, you could tell there was something wrong with this area. The ground was decaying and rotting and appeared ready to give way under the power of something that could not be seen. Suddenly, the ground crumbled and broke apart, as a shaky hand reached out and gripped the earth.

Pulling up, the big, hulking form of the thought-to-be-dead Garrett made his way out of his earthy grave. The attack that had taken him into the ground had been harsh and deadly but he had survived again. Inexplicably, every time he would encounter the rare foe that would push him to the brink and then some, he would not die. Something outside of his control always happened and he would wake up later, miraculously alive. Even more strange was the fact that he never seemed to show any signs that he had been injured. So was the case this day too.

While his mind still remembered the awesome pain he had encountered when those roots with those massive thorns plunged deep into his skin and drug him into the ground, he did not have a scar on him. He growled in frustration, his rage increasing, only to be startled and have his anger peak by the sudden appearance of three very arrogant figures.

"Huhuhuhuhu, well, well, well. It seems I was just a bit off but you are definitely worthy of my interest." This person was on the verge of feeling every single bit of his strength, which was fully restored.

"Who the hell are you, huh? State your business before I decide to break you in two."

The one who was on all fours cast a curious glance from Garrett to his partner. "Are you telling me this individual has an oni sealed inside of him? I don't even feel any youkai."

Garrett suddenly became confused and curious as well. "What the fuck do you mean? And don't ignore me either."

The annoying chuckle from the taller individual sounded through the forest and gave Garrett the creeps. "My friend, are you not aware? Interesting, you use it's power but you seem to do so unconsciously. You must be the first that fool used." Garrett was getting more and more pissed with each passing moment as this arrogant ass just continued to bombard him with riddles.

"What the fuck do you mean, you asshole. Tell me now or so help me god - "

"You, my friend, cannot hope to defeat us." Before the brute of a man could continue, the tall individual continued to speak. "By yourself that is. But what if I told you you had a power inside of you, a power you have the chance to control and use. You could get revenge for what happened to you with that power." Garrett thought about what he said, now being intrigued by the man's proposition. "Join me and my apprentice and learn to use your sleeping power. You are strong...but you could be so much stronger. What do you say?"

"Stronger eh? You ain't bullshitting me, are you?" When the man shook his head, he looked down at the ground and then back up. "Sure, I'll come. But what exactly do you mean by 'oni' and that I'm the 'first?' What is all that supposed to mean, hmm?"

"For you, my new comrade, I shall enlighten you to the truth of who you are, Garrett 'Stonebear' or should I say, Onyx Minotaur."

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Whew, another long one for you. And now, more questions arise. One question that must be asked is who are the cloaked individuals (you should know who they are) and what do they want with Garrett? Is he really a Jinchurriki? Or is he something else entirely? And why would this particular individual want to help him gain this strength?

Another question that has to be asked is...is the amount of fluff I ended up putting into this chapter legal? I don't know if it should be considered a crime or not. Hows about letting me know? Reviews are welcome, as are any constructive comments. As for the next chapter: With the approach of the Festival, the village of Konoha deals with the bustling excitement and incoming visitors. Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata are released and things begin getting back to normal and the return of Kakashi and his team brings along new information and startling revelations. And what is going on with the cloaked individuals and what do they want with Garrett? What role does he play with their plan? Only one way to find out. Come back next time.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Thank you all for being patient. Sadly, I was held up by a number of things, one being writer's block The other being my computer flipping out on me and somehow I lost half of my chapter, so I struggled with rewriting it, not remembering exactly how I had written it. But I think it ended up coming out good, possibly better than the original.

Also, I have not done this yet, so I shall do so. I do not own anything in Naruto but the characters of my own design are mine.

Chapter Twelve - Interlude: Clouded Clarity

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Morning dawned on the beautiful village of Konoha, bringing forth the beginning of a new day filled with new ideas, activities, and possibilities. If you roamed around the busy sector of the village, you would be able to hear the frantic bustling of the pioneers in the town, the entrepreneurs who have come to accept their roles in life and lead lives around supplying their fellow man with services only they can offer them. As the cool air of an autumn morning blows through the town and is a benevolent reminder of the seasonal difference between now and one month ago, it fails to reach those who are sheltered from it's touch.

One such type of person would be those who roam the halls of, and those who inhabit the rooms of, the Konoha Medical Hospital. One such person was Uzumaki Collette, who was considered one of the most strict individuals when it came to following the standards set by the predecessors before her. Yesterday had been a completely different story though. In a nutshell, she had caved. Giving a supplement that would counter the drowsy side-effects of a pain killer to one Hyuuga Hinata had been one that really did not affect her all that much. No, it was what her idiot son had done later that day, in the evening time, that had her fuming now that it was the next day, the morning now present.

Whatever quarrel the two individuals had had the previous evening was apparently settled. That was obvious by the sheer fact that if it weren't, then the two of them would not be in the situation they were in. She slightly wondered if she would have preferred them to be upset at each other for the meer fact that she would not be in such a delicate conundrum. For you see, Collette, when she got in this morning early, she found out that the Hyuuga's who visited the other day would be coming by soon. She was thankful that they weren't there yet so she went upstairs to try and rectify the precarious position with her son and Hinata. Luck would not treat her very kindly, however, for by the time she reached the floor they were on, she received word that Hyuuga Hiashi and company had made their way into the building and were coming up soon. Even worse was that by the time she heard that news, they made their way onto the appropriate floor and were approaching quickly.

Despite the head of the Hyuuga clan not looking rushed or moving fast, he seemed to bear down on her as she stood outside of the hospital room as guard. Deciding that staving off the Hyuuga head would be necessary to avoid tension and conflict, she prepared herself to speak as calmly and sweetly as possible. She could only pray that the man or any of his company would not resort to using their bloodline to peek through the walls.

"Good morning, Hyuuga Hiashi-sama. I am to assume by your presence here that you are to visit with your daughter, correct?" Plastering an innocent smile onto her face, she looked him in the eyes and saw the sternness that seemed to be always there was slightly receded in favor of determination.

"Yes, you would be correct on that assumption, Collette-san. One of the servants discovered that the Hokage performed a ceremony within the halls of the hospital. The only reason he would do such a thing would be on a congratulatory level and would only be performed in front of all parties pertaining to the announcement. I would trust that the Hokage wouldn't deliver a speech unless both his son and my daughter were conscious and aware enough to comprehend what might be taking place around them." If what he heard was true then what he had managed to theorize might also be true and he might be able to see his daughter fully conscious and bring her home, or at least that was his hope.

Collette was impressed with his logic and found herself almost at a loss. It wasn't until Hiashi spoke again that she became aware that she had not given him a confirmation on his theory. "Was this information true? Is my daughter conscious?"

"Yes she is. She woke up yesterday, rather early actually a-"

"Then why wasn't I informed immediately? Nevermind that she is in the Hyuuga family. Does not a hospital have an obligation to alert the immediate family of one of it's patients as soon as something happens to them, whether good or bad?" She dumbly nodded, suddenly very ashamed of herself for forgetting to do so. "Then why was I not informed?"

"I apologize for that, Hiashi-sama. Believe me it was not a matter of disrespect towards you, it was just that I forgot. I assure you that that rarely occurs so if you could, please forgive me?" She had been hanging her head and so when she apologized, she looked back up to his eyes a bit hopeful and saw the stern facade once again plastered across his face and felt fear for what might be the result now. Her fears were laid to rest when he nodded his head in understanding. She immediately sighed in relief and resumed her steady posture in front of the man.

She took notice of how Hiashi's youngest daughter was with him with an indifferent look, one that could not be broken no matter how hard you tried to decipher the facial language of the young girl. Also with him was his brother, Hizashi, wearing the white kimono with the tell-tale white bandaging over his forehead to disguise the design that marked him as a branch family member. It was amazing how similar the two looked compared to each other.

"Now, if you wouldn't mind, please allow me to visit with my daughter."

"Umm...actually..." She had to think fast; otherwise, this minor incident would become a magnificent catastrophe. "I n-need to perform an analysis of their condition. We do this regularly in the mornings for the patients that have to stay overnight. It's protocol, so when I am finished, you may enter. And no one else is allowed in. And no byakugan either. Patient privacy, remember?" She then turned around and snuck into the room but not before receiving a curt nod of the head from Hiashi as to his acceptance of her duties. He turned to take a seat on one of the benches stationed in the hallway for visitors of the patients and was accompanied by Hanabi and Hizashi. Collette then smiled back at them and then returned to entering the room.

Closing the door behind her, she breathed a sigh of relief again and set about to do her task. She marched towards Hinata's bed with full intentions of causing some kind of harm to the foolish blonde boy who could cause this entire building to radiate with a murderous intent that would put the best of Konoha's nins. Hiashi was normally a calm man but he did have little patience and was very, VERY protective of his clan and it's image.

She started to shake the blonde a bit roughly in order to get him up and was becoming irritated at how little the effect was having on him. So she grabbed the pitcher and took a deep breath and counted.

1

2

3

Naruto was in the middle of an odd dream. It wasn't really about one particular thing or another. It was just strangely...peaceful. Usually his dreams seem hurried, frantic, and fast. They play off of his emotions from when he fell asleep, whether he be happy, excited, nervous, sad, angry, or anxious. But for once, it was calm. When some outside force tried to push him out of this state, he was very hesitant, but started to succumb to his fate. He was supposed to get up. His mind started to take in the more conscious realm around him and he was about to wake up until he was assaulted...by ice cold water.

He gasped for breath and struggled to recover from his racing mind. He was so startled that he swore his heart skipped a beat. Looking towards the source of the disturbance, he was about to retaliate until he saw who it was exactly...and wanted to huddle under the bed.

The glare from his mother made him nervous since his mother scared him to death. He was always scared of her. It wasn't because she beat him or anything when he was young. It was the sheer fact that where he could tease and play with his father, his mother was a different story. You could joke around her, you could explain your day, you could confide your inner thoughts to her...but if you upset her, she went from a benevolent saint to a malevolent angel. Like it was said before, she didn't beat him or anything, it was just that look you received and that feeling you got from her. Right now, if he had to guess, he was on her shit list.

Normally, she wouldn't feel bad about doing that to him, since it was a common practice in their household, but with the young girl there too, she became soaked as well. With a bit of amusement in her eyes, she watched as both pre-teens reacted to the water, woke up on sudden alert, and took in the predicament they were in. With increasing amusement, she watched as Hinata turned very red at the fact she was caught in the same bed as Naruto. Naruto, who seemed oblivious to the girl's plight, kept his grip on her.

"Oh...h-hi mom. Umm...I'm guessing you might want an explanation huh?"

"Perhaps, but that might be better saved for a later time. You need to get into your own bed right this instant and no buts. Hiashi is outside that door and I'm not sure if my friendly request to not use the byakugan to peek in here will be heeded by him."

Hinata, from the moment she woke up, wanted to duck under the covers. Now, with the knowledge her father was right outside the room, she wanted to run away. When she tried to sit up on her own, she was met with slight resistance, due in most part to Naruto's good arm draped around her back and holding her in a one-armed embrace still, even from last night to now, he never released the embrace.

When he felt her trying to sit up, he realized that he hadn't let go of her since last night and wondered just how this might actually look to any outside parties.

"Um...this isn't how this looks." That was the most untactful thing he could say right then and he understood that when he received a slightly surprised look from his mother and felt Hinata go stiff as a board. "I-I-I mean...crap...What I meant is..." but he sighed in defeat and let go and shifted himself so he could get off the bed before he was dragged out of the bed. As he moved around his mom and towards his bed, he noticed the addition to the room's decorum. A couple of flowers in small vases were placed on a small table and that raised one question. "Hey, mom, I know you're mad and all but where did those flowers come from."

"Oh those. Those came from the two young girls who you all spent time with yesterday. Ino and Sakura, I believe. I told them to leave them on the table after you two were asleep. And yes, to answer your next question, they saw...I think they saw everything."

(Whump)

Hinata collapsed onto the bed and was out of it. She was completely out of it too with her cheeks stained red.

Making sure she would be okay, Collette walked over to Naruto and began reattaching all the wires. She didn't reattach the I.V. however, which surprised him but she said he no longer needed it. He would be released after today. A bit excited about that, he waited for her to get the data she needed and take a small blood sample and then watched as she did the same with Hinata. After getting the data, she reached into her pockets and pulled out a small vial filled with a hazy liquid. She uncapped it and put it up to Hinata's nose and Naruto could see vapor being sucked up into her nostrils and then her eyes shot open and were watering a bit.

"Naruto, I think Hiashi would like to speak with Hinata in privacy, so if you wouldn't mind, gather your things that are in the closet and get dressed. Clean clothes are in the bathroom so go change right now, while I take care of Hinata and a couple of...private matters. Don't come out till I tell you to, understand?" She sent him a serious glare, which he saw and sweated nervously while nodding. He got off the bed, very happy that he had recovered his ability to walk. No more needing help to do simpler things like changing and using the restroom.

As he changed into his clothing, he wondered what he would do for the day while Hinata was visiting with her father. _'Maybe I should go see dad. Maybe he can tell me some things about this scroll in more detail.' _After he got changed, he waited patiently and heard a restrained shout of pain. He opened the door to see what happened and was met with an empty water pitcher to the head. "I said don't come out!" Naruto recovered and closed the door, thankful he didn't see anything. From what he did see, though, they were trying to get her changed into something other than a wet hospital robe.

_'I am not like ero-sennin. I am NOT like ero-sennin. Hell, I'm too young to be thinking like ero-sennin.'_ With that, he took a deep breath and waited. A couple more slight sounds of pain later, he heard the call from his mom to come back in. Discarded was the normal white hospital gown that she had been in until it was soaked, and in it's place was a light blue gown...provided by the hospital. Her hair was still a bit wet, but it was combed and kempt. She blushed lightly when he stepped out and he did the same. "Uhhh...sorry bout that, just heard you and I-"

"We both understand, Naruto, but now it is time you, as well as I, take our leave. They want to speak with her and I'm not one to just sit around and listen to family discussions." Seeing a somewhat disheartened look from Hinata, Collette felt more clarity was needed. _'These kids tend to be so sensitive. Guess it can't be helped, she is only 12.'_ "Don't worry, Hinata-chan. When your family is through, you will be allowed to have visitors, okay?"

Hinata smiled lightly at that and nodded in confirmation, as well as satisfaction, but now that she thought about having visitors, she feared her visitors would include Ino and Sakura. She was so lost in her own thoughts, she barely heard Naruto call out to her from the doorway. "Bye, and I'll see ya soon, okay Hinata-chan?"

"O-Oh, okay Naruto-kun. But you don't have to come back, I'll be fine."

Naruto couldn't believe that Hinata thought that she might be a nuisance. Because that was what that statement was. One of her greatest fears was being a burden and he could tell that was her thought process. "But that wouldn't make me a good friend, now would it? See you soon, okay?" She nodded her head, smiling and blushing a little and he opened the door.

Standing up to greet him was Hinata's father, Hiashi, and so Naruto bowed his head slightly as a show of respect. The Hyuuga leader merely nodded, which told him it was okay to stand back up. Naruto started to move out of the man's way until he placed a hand on Naruto's shoulder. Looking up at Hiashi, Naruto noticed a warmness to the normally stern features of his face and eyes, and was caught off guard by what came next. "Naruto, thank you." Choosing to leave it with that, Hiashi moved into the room and walked to the edge of Hinata's bed and the door closed to give the family moment privacy.

Naruto would have continued to dwell on Hiashi's words to him and on what might take place behind that door, but he had business of his own to take care of. He walked triumphantly towards the stairwell and made his way out of the hospital.

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Inside the office of the Yondaime, Arashi was hurriedly reading through multitudes of documents that he hadn't gotten to yesterday. Ruffling his hair in frustration for his active nature was yielding no rewards as the stacks of documents seemed to never end, he barely heard the knock on the door of his office. "No visitors, I'm busy."

"You better be able to make some time for me, damnit!" came a loud and abrupt voice from the hallway outside. Arashi almost laughed at the sound of his son's voice but did submit to the inevitable.

"Come on in, Naruto."

The door swung open and in came a burst of yellow that attacked his table and on it stood, or rather, squatted, Naruto. The boy flashed a cheesy smile that radiated energy and Arashi probably would've been entertained by the performance if not for Naruto standing on his documents that he had been signing and now were probably smudged with dirt and other unknown fungi.

"Get off my desk, brat." spat the Yondaime venomously.

"That's no way to talk to your son when he just got out of the hospital, father!" shot the smaller look-alike, glaring into the eyes of his father.

"Maybe I'd show a bit more compassion if you weren't desecrating these papers. They were already tainted by your presence, they don't need your foot funk on them either." Arashi cracked a grin, unable to hold in his amusement. He knew Naruto would cave in soon as well. This was always fun.

"You know...you're boring. I get out of that stuffy building, bored stiff, with nothing to do, and all you can say to me is get off your work?"

"I heard differently." With a confused look on Naruto's face, Arashi's grin grew wider. "Oh, or were you unaware that my wife divulges everything to me, especially things concerning you. Care to explain what happened last night?"

Across the room, Jiraiya could be seen with one of his infamous grins that only spelled doom. "And don't leave out the juicy details, kid."

Naruto went pale, then red from embarrassment, then his eyes went wide and he became frantic. "DON'T...say a word. It's bad enough that Sakura and Ino know about it and are probably gossiping all over town, I don't need to hear shit from you. That reminds me, I need to have a 'chat' with those two before they decide to blow this thing out of proportion. And as for what happened, father, it was just an apology from a guy who couldn't say the right thing last night. I almost fucked up and hurt one of my best friends, so I apologized and that's all. So drop it, I got something else I wanna discuss, okay?"

"Sure son, if you are so serious about it, go ahead. But would you mind getting off my desk first?"

Naruto looked down and realized he was still on the desk. Laughing nervously, he jumped off without disturbing most of the sheets of paper that were under his feet and took a seat. When he heard his father clear his throat and saw the look on his face, Naruto looked down and saw that one sheet of paper was still stuck to his foot. Laughing nervously again, he brought his foot up and peeled it off of his sweaty feet, since he didn't have his sandals on - discarding them outside of the office. He began to hand it to his father until he saw something curious on it. Four faces, one of an elderly looking man with a rough face, one of a young girl with a strange wrapping over her eyes and dark purple hair, one of a young boy whose smile seemed to be filled with abundant energy and gave him the look of a wildman, and one of another young boy with no smile and an emotionless look on his face. Handing the document to Arashi, he asked the obvious question in mind. "Who are they?"

"They, Naruto, are genin from a hidden village in Lightning Country. I've spoken with their jounin instructor in person before and I've decided to allow them entrance to the village early, since the genin seem to possess a certain enthusiasm for the approaching festival. The three genin, from what I've been told, are quite 'unique' and should be interesting to keep an eye on during the chuunin exams." And it was the truth. While he had said what he did in hopes of raising the curiosity of Naruto and making the boy entertain the thought of taking the exam, the truth of the matter was that the instructor of this group of ninja bore a striking resemblance to the ex-third hokage, in terms of how he held himself, and Arashi was eager to see how these genin had progressed under the man's tutilege. "Now, what was it you wanted to speak with me about?"

"Oh yeah, I wanted to ask you something else about the scroll you gave me."

Arashi sat at his desk as he regarded Naruto's demeanor, the subtle little hints his body language seemed to speak for him that he did not state verbally. "The scroll, eh? Okay, what is it you would like to know?"

Naruto thought about his words, wanting to choose the right thing to say. If he merely asked a different take on the questions he had asked earlier, he would be met with the same cryptic answers. Trying to see underneath the underneath was one thing Arashi preached and therefore, tried to teach Naruto to do. "When I asked you about this scroll earlier, you said that the scroll will reveal the techniques it felt I was capable of. Does that mean it has free will to judge where my level is at?"

Arashi was a bit stupified by his son's sudden, and perplexing, insight. Shaking off this bout of amazement, he thought about the question and then, as Naruto had done, chose the right wording. "It was a bit more tricky than merely establishing a sensor into the design. What Jiraiya, Kakashi, and I did was we all made a list of techniques that we felt you would be able to learn and utilize as you progressed. Then, we fused that list of techniques into a complex seal, with limiters and requirements. As we had done for only you to be able to read this scroll, we also made it so that the scroll would feel out for your individual chakra signature. If you are wondering how this was set up, it picked up on your chakra signature the moment you placed your hands on it the day you took it out of the packaging it was wrapped in. Once the minimal requirements were met, it sent out a signal that you, and only you, would pick up."

"But Sasuke said that he felt the chakra of the scroll leaking out. If only I could pick it up then how was Sasuke able to?" Naruto saw his father give him a curious look and asked for him to elaborate on what took place. After Naruto was finished telling them about what Sasuke had said and Naruto seeing the four new techniques, he awaited his father's reaction and theory. His father did not disappoint.

"Sasuke, more than likely, saw the chakra signal, rather than felt it. He probably unintentionally saw it while he had the Sharingan active. If he tried to mess with it then he probably received a painful reminder of why one shouldn't go tampering with someone else's property." Arashi chuckled lightly before he continued, "As for the sudden appearance of the four new techniques, the only explanation I can give for it would be probably the only flaw in it's design. Since you did have the scroll with you when you were on the mission, then my theory may pan out.

"You see Naruto, I heard from Yamato what happened on the mission, and you have mentioned that you do not remember what happened exactly. Well, from what Yamato told me, you seemed to perform two techniques that should not be possible for someone of your current level. I would like to hear your exact words though on what you can remember before I base a theory upon the information I have heard." So Naruto told him everything that he could possibly remember before he blanked. Arashi sat there, rolling each word over in his head and trying to make sense of it all. If Naruto didn't remember what he did, then there would be no point in asking him how he did what he did. So that left only one avenue for his theory to go. "Well Naruto, from what you have told me and from what Yamato has said, I am able to come to one conclusion. Since you did perform techniques that are considered beyond your level of capability set forth as one of the limiters in the scroll's design, it must have revealed these four techniques because at that moment on the mission, it must have judged you to be on the level capable of mastering the jutsus. Also, the techniques revealed, when the requirements are met, will be in response to your will. If your will is strong enough, then it will have an impact on what you the scroll will reveal to you. But I'm a bit hesitant on you learning them. All of those techniques you mentioned are low to high chuunin level." He saw the glum look on Naruto's face and was suddenly reminded of why he made the scroll in the first place.

As the job of Hokage is passed onto the one shinobi felt to be strong enough for the job, the position comes with it's rewards and consequences. One of the latter had been the fact he had to ask his former sensei to assist in his son's development and could only sparingly train and spar with Naruto. When he gave the scroll to Naruto, it was meant as to make amends for all the time spent away from his son's life as a shinobi-in-training.

Now Naruto sat across from Arashi, with that disappointed look on his face, and Arashi reasserted his goals. Naruto was on a team with two other young shinobi who had developed into their clan's respective pride. The Uchiha with his sharingan and the Hyuuga with her byakugan were unmistakable in the eyes of commoners on the streets of the village. Naruto had no such pride. He had no such praise to call his own. He was not the holder of a bloodline limit and his family had no history of one - but who knew what could happen with age of their namesake. He was an ordinary shinobi with no particularly spectacular reputation except being the son of the Yondaime. He knew Naruto wanted to be seen as something else than that title that was branded to him from the moment he breathed life in the village, but it was a difficult process. So that was where the scroll came into play. With all the restrictions and limitations that had been set upon the device of learning for his son, Arashi believed it would push Naruto to become strong and astute, the desire to step into the spotlight as Uzumaki Naruto would be enough of a motivation, and so the boy would push himself. Maybe he wouldn't have a clan's namesake on his shoulders, maybe he didn't have the speciality of a bloodline limit, but he did have his determination, his desire, his drive, and that - in Arashi's opinion - would become Naruto's legacy.

"But, I would have no qualms about you learning such skills if you could, say, master them by the end of two-and-a-half months time." He smiled one of his clever, mischievous smiles that made Jiraiya almost want to burst into laughter. "That, Naruto, would be the end of the upcoming Chuunin exam. You will most certainly be confronted by Yamato about this, since I have given him authorization that your team can enter if it so chooses unanimously. Talk to your team, convince them to take the exam with you, and see it through to the end. Make chuunin and you will prove that you are deserving of those techniques."

Naruto's smile was one of enthusiasm and victory, as he nearly leaped out of his seat to attack his father in a more affectionate way, but held his ground and chose to behave in a more civilized manner. "Don't you worry, otou-san. I'll convince them to join me and then we'll kick that exam's ass together. We'll show everyone how strong we are." He then got to his feet and stretched, cursing quietly at how sore his left arm still was, and made his way to the door. But before he left, he looked back at Jiraiya and then to his father, "Thank you." With that, he left the room, thoroughly excited. He would have to wait to spring the idea on his teammates but it was something he would have to attack soon in order to plant the seed into their minds. But in the end, it would come down to the others feeling confident enough to participate in the exams. From overheard rumors and what certain books explained, the exam for chuunin rank was a lot different and a great deal more difficult than the genin exam had been. But he had no doubts, not when it came to his partners. With a new-found confidence, Naruto joyfully roamed the streets of Konoha and bumped into none other than his sensei, Yamato, accompanied by Sasuke.

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(Konoha's Hospital)

Hinata had been more than a little nervous when her father stepped into the room. That was one of her greater fears was facing her family in the bed of a hospital, looking weak and helpless. It didn't help her that her body was still magnificently sore, her head still seemed to throb with every passing moment, and her arm was completely useless. Also, her little sister, who had been bashful in approaching Hinata - both in a physical sense and in conversation - seemed to pester her with an abundance of questions, such as if she hurt, how badly did she hurt, how cool was the battle, and anything else a seven year old's mind, that was training to be a shinobi, could think of.

Hiashi, however, after gazing upon his daughters' activities for a few moments, decided to squash some of Hinata's fears, early and decisively. "I have heard of what happened while on the mission. Your exploits in the heat of battle, while you, yourself, were not the sole reason for the success of the mission, were admirable. I feared, after seeing you upon this bed, unconscious, that I might not have had the chance to say this when I should have. So I will say it now." He closed his eyes and breathed in and out slightly in concentration.

To Hinata, she slightly feared what these words might mean. He had said her performance on the mission was worthy of praise, but the sudden shift from those words to the now serious tone had her a bit shaken. She braced herself as she saw her father's eyes open again and regard her in neutrality, the look he would don when he made announcements regarding 'the clan's best interest.'

"I am proud of you, my daughter." And for one brief moment, he allowed his facade to drop in favor of showing genuine pride. A small smile formed on his roughened face and his face held one of content. Then it was replaced, just as quickly as it appeared, by the stoic, proud, and firm facial expression of the Hyuuga head. "Now, I am told that you will be allowed to leave this hospital by tomorrow. I will have an escort assigned to you when you are allowed to leave this facility. And do not worry about the family training , I have been told the extent of your injuries. Just focus on getting better quickly, then we will try to catch up in your progress. Now I must return to the house, but I await your return, as does your family." He then stood up to make his exit but not before placing a hand on top of her head and leaving it there, as he smiled at her reassuringly.

Motioning for his brother and his youngest daughter to leave with him, they made their way to the door. "Sayonara, onee-chan, get well soon." called Hanabi to Hinata while the door closed behind them. Now Hinata was left to soak in the afterglow of her father's visit. It had been unexpected, nerve-racking, and very different from the norm. But it was a pleasant kind of different. Desired, but not begged for. Celebrated, but in quiet thought. She nearly leapt out of her skin when someone walked into her room.

"Oh, hi Hinata-chan. I brought visitors." And so he did. Naruto walked in with Sasuke and Yamato and they all sat down and looked at her. After a little bit of light-hearted conversation, Naruto turned his attention to the one thing he was wanting to get to. "Hey Hinata, Yamato received some interesting news recently that he'd like to introduce to us." Turning a fox-like grin to his sensei, the man sighed from the weight of the spotlight bearing down on him.

"Well, like Naruto said, I received some interesting news from the Hokage. It pertains to the event which will take place exactly one month from the beginning of the Festival of Fire. I speak of the Chuunin exams." A strange hush fell over them, every one of his students giving him their undivided attention. "I, at first, thought it to be too soon to even consider you three for the next step, but, as you proved to me in the past, my judgments should not be made until I have done a thorough assessment of my company." He smiled warmly at each of them, noting, with slight humor, the looks of pride and confidence in them - even in the normally humble Hinata. "Therefore, I have decided to address this with you three. It is your careers, after all. The exam is a team effort, so the choice should be a team decision. I will give you time to discuss it with each other. You have plenty of time, so think it through before you-"

"Let's do it."

The other three looked at the person who spoke those words as if they had walked through fire. Indeed, Naruto's reaction was doubled by the fact that he had prepared himself for a full-length chit-chat with the one person on his team who he thought might have second thoughts on the decision of the chuunin exam. But as it seemed to happen more often than not, the blonde shinobi found himself caught off guard and staring in amazement at the one who he thought he had figured out by now. "A-Are you sure, Hinata?"

She looked at him a bit shocked herself. "D-Do you not want to participate in the exams yourself?" When he responded that he did by violently nodding his head, she continued, "And don't you want to participate in the exams, Sasuke-kun?" The boy she questioned just nodded slightly with an amused smile on his lips. "Th-Then let's do it."

Naruto grinned in such an unbelieveable way that those who saw it would've thought he had been hit by a sudden realization. "Well alright then. That didn't hurt at all. You heard the girl, Yamato. Go get those papers so we can register."

A vein twitched unimpulsively on Yamato's skull in annoyance as he heard the verbal command from his pupil. "I am not some servant for you, Naruto. I will get your registration forms later when I am in the office's vicinity. Until then, just be patient. While I am a bit perplexed at this sudden decision you have all agreed to, it comforts me to the thought that you three have truly progressed as a team and are so confident as a team that you are willing to participate in this exam. We have enough time to prepare for the exam. Get healed up you two" he said looking at Naruto and Hinata, "and come back ready to buckle down and get to business. We will not be taking anymore large scale missions until the end of the exam, understood?"

"Hai, Yamato-sensei." was the consensus response, the eyes of the shinobi shimmering with the encounter of this new obstacle.

"Very good then. I eagerly await your recovery. Until then, we shall just have to entertain ourselves with what we can accomplish. So if you want, you can still report to our training area when you are allowed. I'll be waiting." He then grinned broadly, his eyes closing from the extent of the smile, and then he waved at them in a gesture of farewell, before he disappeared in a poof of smoke.

It only took a few moments after their sensei's departure for all of the focus in the room to turn solely onto the only bedridden person. Hinata noticed this too and fidgeted with the top of her bed sheets. Naruto, of course, was the first to pounce, and, fueled by curiosity, assaulted Hinata with his inquisitive mind. "So what brought that along? I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm happy you wanted to do it but...just a bit surprising to me that you were the first person to speak on it." And it was surprising. The only thing he could think of that would provoke such a sudden change like this would have to be something that was said during her talk with her family. And if Hinata knew what Naruto had theoried, then she could have confirmed his suspicions.

The knowledge of her father being proud of her was an inflation of her spirit. She had, in the span of 24 hours, gone through several changes in her spirit. First it was grim with the knowledge of her pain, then elation from being with her friends, then humbled happiness from receiving the medal, then embarrassment, then genuine happiness from Naruto's acceptance as one of his closest friends, then content with this newfound knowledge, then fear from his sudden change in mood, then outrage at how he was upset with her, then relief when their argument settled down, then embarrassment again at being woken up in that situation, and with her father brought a whole new exchange of powerful shifts. Fear, regret, sadness, happiness, relief, and now, with her father's words still echoing in her head, confidence. That was a strong driving force.

She had her father's acceptance - and with it, her father's pride. She would not let her father down. Now that she finally had his attention, his acceptance, and his pride-filled gaze staring at her expectantly, expecting her to stand tall and strong in the face of adversity, she would now do something that she didn't think she had the strength to do. She would gain the acceptance of her clan. The chuunin exams would be the first step, but it would be a major step. If she could do this, then surely the rest of the clan would no longer view her as weak. This, she knew, would be her driving force. Yet, it wasn't the only thing driving her. There was something else, the promise she made the night before the confrontation with Vega and Garrett. But she did not want them to know of her true purpose. She considered that to be private, so she had to think quickly.

"Oh, I-I just...w-well, I want to. I think that since we all have an agenda...th-that this w-will help with that." She was referring to their first meeting together as Team Seven, when they each introduced themselves to each other. Sasuke said that he wanted to step out of his brother's shadow, Hinata wanted to gain the acceptance of her father and clan, and Naruto wanted to be seen for him, not as the Hokage's kid. This was their chance. The chance they wanted, the chance they needed.

"Indeed, this will definitely help our causes. Thank you, Hinata, for reminding me of my agenda. Don't get me wrong, I've had a lot of fun getting to know you two, but now it seems that we must get to business. When you two are both healthy enough, come back to the training area. Like Yamato-sensei, I'll be waiting as well." He then stood up, nodded at the two as he normally did (that being his way of saying a silent good-bye) and made to leave. "Sorry for having to go so suddenly, but I was told this morning that my brother is supposed to be returning soon, so I wish to be there to greet him back." Grabbing the door handle, he made his way out the door but not before Naruto called out to the Uchiha.

"You better hurry up, Sasuke, and get strong, because when I get back, you'll definitely have some competition." Naruto then flashed another cheesy grin, which caused Hinata to giggle at his antics and saw her other teammate, Sasuke, smile in content.

"I wouldn't expect anything less, by now. Just get healed. I don't want you to have a cop-out." He sent Naruto one of his more arrogant smiles, but not one that provoked Naruto's wrath. He just chuckled in humor, as Sasuke walked out of sight.

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(The Uchiha Manor)

Sasuke was returning to his home from a day of training with Yamato-sensei. It had been four days since the day he and his team discussed the chuunin exams and he had been training almost constantly, trying to perfect his strengths, strengthen his weaknesses, and learn new techniques.

This day the entire team was there, but it didn't comfort him that both Naruto and Hinata had come to a training session without being capable of training like normal. But they seemed to keep themselves busy. Hinata kept practicing graceful movements, as if she were dancing, but Sasuke took note that with the fluidity of the moves, if she were to implement them with her taijutsu, then she would be able to parry and counter most melee attacks. He was surprised that she was capable of doing that without hurting her right arm, which was still bound in a thick cast, but the sling was discarded. After she finished, she seemed to go over by a tree and meditate for a long time.

Naruto, however, seemed content with staying by a tree of his own and looking over a scroll. The blond-haired boy continued studying whatever was on it, his lips moving as if he were speaking to himself, and his hands would twitch every now and then, but his hands seemed to take the incomplete forms of certain hand seals. If Sasuke had to guess, then Naruto was probably studying jutsus that were written down on the scroll. This made Sasuke feel slightly jealous of Naruto, the boy having a list of new techniques that he was probably itching to try out if only his arm wasn't injured.

Overall, the day had been successful for all of them, because they all seemed to be getting back into the groove of things. Team Seven had come together for a training session, albeit a bit unorthodox, but what would anyone expect from ninjas. Sasuke should've felt content. He had Yamato's undivided attention, he was training relentlessly and could feel the difference already, and his father was even spending some time to teach him a new jutsu or two. But there was something missing, and, no matter how much he hated to admit it, he knew he couldn't deny it.

Without his brother, it didn't mean anything. He wanted to hear what his brother thought about his progress. He always took what his brother said to him a bit more critically than his mother's or father's words. This was for the respect that Sasuke had for Itachi.

When Sasuke was younger, he had bugged Itachi for his assistance in training. He looked up to him with pride and saw through all the teasing and playful ribbing of his older brother, it meaning that Itachi was not annoyed with him, but his mind was always occupied on something. The strangest things was, after reporting to the Yondaime about some mission, Itachi became suddenly different.

He still seemed to be indifferent, holding a look upon his face that threatened almost every living thing, but his attitude had shifted. No longer cold and bitter with some unseen issue, he was more outgoing, especially with Sasuke. And if it were not for Itachi hunkering Sasuke down for what seemed like an eternity of training all summed up in one grueling week, Sasuke might not have activated the Sharingan. The activation part was the most brutal aspect of it. Your body had to be in shape to handle the information it would deliver the person capable of activating it, but the psyche also had to be influenced. Sasuke remembered that day and shuddered.

Passing by random residents of the whole complex without stopping to speak with them, Sasuke continued to brood silently. He carefully made it past his mother and father in the common area of their sector of the manor so that he would not have to speak with them. He didn't really feel like being assaulted by questions from his mother on whether or not he was okay. He loved his mother to death, but she had a tendency to not drop an issue if she felt she wasn't getting the whole truth.

He continued towards his room, feeling suddenly exhausted and wanting a nap before dinner. As he approached his room, however, he felt a prickling sensation come from the back of his neck, as his hairs stood up on end. The feeling was overwhelming to Sasuke, because whatever the presence was, it seemed to focus and bear down on him. _'Behind!'_

He whipped around, falling into a fighting stance and drawing a kunai on the ready, but saw a familiar form that, despite it's powerful aura, comforted Sasuke. "Itachi..."

"Hmm?" came the questioning expression from the bored-looking prodigy. "No 'welcome back, brother'?" The tone was surprisingly light in the voice of the normally stoic and indifferent Uchiha.

Sasuke cracked a grin and actually chuckled in amusement. His brother wasn't the joking type, but he was sarcastic. And his very timely appearance helped ease and settle his mind. It slightly upset Sasuke that it took this long for Itachi to come back from a mission, but not everything could go swimmingly all the time. They probably just got held up by something. "How was the mission?"

"We were...held up." But that was putting it lightly. Itachi usually keeps his emotions but Kakashi had held them from finishing up and leaving, all in the pursuit of evidence. Kakashi had mentioned how suspicious these events were in this country, and he wanted to check into something. When they finally found Gatou's hideout, Kakashi had relentlessly gone through numerous documents, with their help of course.

What was very curious was the results of their extra labor. The documents he had searched for showed a very suspicious paper trail of funds going to and from Gatou's major account. This account had had business with an odd account in Rock Country, a mysterious one in Fire Country, and an account in Tea Country.

"Our captain should, right now, be reporting to the Hokage. I must do so as well." He then turned around and walked through the hallway to a side exit.

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(The Hyuuga Manor)

Hinata walked through the halls of her home, wanting to discuss with her father a discovery she had made that day. She suspected him to be in the dojo, so she moved through halls and walkways and doorways until she would finally reach her destination.

For the past few days, she had been under the careful and scrutinous eyes of her family, the looks she was receiving looking like the ones she wished she could banish. Either she was viewed with pity or she was viewed as shameful. And perhaps she was.

For these past few days, she had questioned herself. She had wondered why she was suddenly in the good graces of her father. She did not do anything spectacular while on the mission, and she had yet to even confront one of her fears.

For some reason, Hinata feared activating her byakugan. _What if I can't? What if the concussion caused me to lose that ability?_ These were the questions she would ask herself. The fear of them being true horrified her even more. _I would lose father's respect. I would be a disgrace._ But she knew that if she didn't confront this situation, she would be worse than a 'disgrace.' She would be a coward.

So with her new resolve, she went to their team's training grounds and relaxed her nerves by performing the maneuvers she had developed through her training. The light and graceful footwork worked wonders on her restless nerves and she managed to relax enough to tackle her task. After meditating for over an hour, she brought her left hand up close to her face and spoke a silent prayer. Then she activated it.

What assaulted her vision was not what she had expected and so she was now searching for her father, hoping that he would be able to make sense of it. She approached the doors of the dojo and opened the door, completely forgetting to ask for permission to enter.

Upon sliding the door open, her little sister, who had been sparring with their father, looked at her in a bit of surprise but seemed to be thankful for her appearance. She was sweating and it seemed to just drip off of her in pools. However hard she was trying, though, didn't seem to be enough to push their father to that point.

The man stood as calm as normal, though a little tensed since he had been training Hanabi, but wasn't sweating from the exertion. The sudden and unexpected appearance of Hinata had surprised him. Had he been a little less curious in wanting to speak with her, he probably would have berated her on customs, such as asking for permission to enter rooms where higher-ups were performing their activities.

"G-Gomen, Otou-san. I did not mean to intrude. I will just-" and she turned to leave and wait for them to finish until a harsh voice held her attention and froze her on spot.

"Hinata, stay." The command, spoken by Hiashi, was not directed so as to intimidate his daughter, but to keep her from leaving. He then turned to his other daughter. "Hanabi, you are dismissed."

The girl smiled thankfully, though her hair hid the smile from view of her father, and she bowed as gracefully as she could before she gingerly shuffled out of the room. Once Hiashi was confident that she was out of earshot, he continued. "Now, what is it you have come here to discuss, Hinata?"

Her father's abilities at insight were truly to be marvelled. She was a bit surprised but had to remind herself that he was the head of the Hyuuga clan. Of course his insight would be so talented to tell such things as that. "H-Hai, otou-san. I have come here to speak with you about something important."

Hiashi, hearing the tone in her voice, made sure that he heard her clearly. He motioned for her to take a seat across from him while he did the same. She struggled to maintain eye contact but forced herself to do so. "E-Ever since the incident on the mission, I-I have been slightly afraid t-to activate my byakugan, but I ch-chose to do so today." Hiashi's eyes widened a bit in realization of this topic.

"And? What did you discover?"

"W-Well, everything seems a bit brighter than normal. A-And...th-there are l-lines everywhere."

Hiashi did have good insight but this little bit of information was vague. _'Lines? Could her eyes possibly be damaged?'_ He stayed like that for a couple of minutes with his eyes closed in thought. _'hmmmm...wait...just a theory, but...'_ "Hinata, describe these 'lines' to me. Where is there origin, do they move?"

Hinata bit her bottom lip in a common gesture. Not of worry, but in nervousness of searching for the right wording. "Th-They seemed to...float."

"And their origin?" When she didn't seem to have an answer, Hiashi thought maybe a rejogging of the memory was in order. "Activate your byakugan and tell me what you see."

She gulped down the lump that suddenly formed in her throat. "H-Hai." Bringing her left hand's index and middle fingers up in the familiar sign, she whispered her blood limit's name. The veins formed and her lavender eyes exploded into milky white.

She struggled to make sense of the overwhelming brightness. The walls seemed to be layered with chakra and it was thick. She couldn't see outside these walls because of that chakra, but neither could anyone outside look in. So she moved on to the other thing that was causing her distress. The lines. Before, she had just been confused by them and hadn't hunted for any distinguishing origin as to why they seemed to float around. Forcing herself to fight through the threatening desire to lose her lunch from nausea, she focused on the lines and noticed something very odd.

He watched his daughter impassively while she looked around and came out of his thoughts when she deactivated her byakugan. "Well? What did you see?"

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(The Uzumaki Manor) 

As Naruto walked towards his home and reached for the doorknob, he stopped, sensing that something was out of place. That was when he turned around and felt all the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Three figures were walking up towards the house and him. The faces of these people were sheltered from view by the way they hung their heads, as if they were watching where they walked. It also didn't help that two of these people wore straw hats atop their head. These two wore black cloaks. On each of their right arms were strange beads and in their left hand, they carried a long, wooden staff with an odd design on the top of it, with metallic rings attached. Their appearance was finished by the traditional style sandals.

The third person was dressed in a long white robe that covered almost every single square inch of the person's frame, not even leaving the feet exposed. It gave off an eerie look of a wraith floating in the air - the illusion being assisted by the fact you could not see the person's face, since the hood of the robe left the face in shadows.

The three people continued to approach the house and Naruto, and he felt increasingly threatened by their presence. _'Something's just not right about these guys. They're giving me the creeps.'_ "Hey, what business do you have here?" His question was laced with a serious, threatening tone, as if demanding the answer. But when they didn't immediately respond to him, he continued. "Hey, this is shinobi property and I am a shinobi. What is your business here?!"

"I am sorry for the intrusion, but our intentions are not hostile, young one. We are here because we need to speak with someone who lives here. Would a Kidikime Collette reside in this location?" This came from one of the men dressed in black and his voice was very warm and peaceful, yet held an authoritative tone as if willing the listener of his question to answer.

Naruto sighed in relief, the inviting sound of a peaceful voice coming from this group of people being very welcome. If these three proved to be hostile, Naruto didn't know if he could have handled them. There just was not something right about them. He then pondered the question for a brief moment, recognizing his mother's name, but not the family name that came with it. _'Perhaps her maiden name?'_

"Maybe. This is about the time she gets off her shift at the hospital. So she might be here. Hold on, I'll check." He dug into his pocket and fished out his keys, unlocking the front door and opening it, while he called for his mother. He didn't know why, but he felt that he could trust these strangers.

When she came to the front door, Naruto took notice that she was out of her normal nursing uniform and was in her casual around-the-house clothing and was sweating slightly. He could only guess that she was probably in the kitchen preparing supper.

"Hey mom, these guys seem to know you and wanted to speak with you." he said as he pointed with his thumb behind him nonchalantly. His mother, breathing slightly heavy from whatever she was doing, and wiping sweat from her forehead, took a look at them and her eyes almost bulged out of socket.

"It's been such a long time, Lady Collette." came the voice of the person hidden in the white robe, identifying that person as female. The woman's voice sounded as warm as the previous man in the company of three but, instead of the authoritative tone, it was a voice that seemed to hold infinite wisdom, if only one were courageous enough to ask the questions. This person looked up, as did her two companions, and Naruto saw that the third person was also male; however, despite that the woman in the white robe looked up, the hood of the robe still held her face in shadows, but you could see the reflection of the setting sun's remaining rays of light shine against her eyes, and Naruto could swear that her eyes held a grim look in them.

"S-S-S-Sister Serena, y-y-you've come. W-What do I owe this pleasure?" Collette's voice was shaky, and her lips were trembling. But she wasn't afraid of these people and her apparent sister. No, she was shocked, astonished, and surprised.

"My dear Collette, I am sorry for not keeping in touch. And I would love nothing more than to become reacquainted, but alas, this visit is forced upon us as business." The woman halted and looked at Naruto then back up to Collette, as if silently asking her if it was alright for Naruto to hear this. When Collette nodded her head, the woman in the white robe, now identified as Serena, continued. "Sister Collette, I have come with a prophecy."

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Dum Dum Dummmmmmmmmmmmmmm...

More questions now (don't hurt me). But I couldn't resist. The only thing I regret is that I wasn't capable of answering some of your questions but unfortunately, I couldn't get to it with this chapter. But your answers will come. You won't be in the dark the entire time. And like the chapter said, this was just an interlude. I aimed for that type of a chapter because I just couldn't attack the more serious issues without turning this chapter into a monster. But juicier things will be revealed. Trust me. I won't disappoint. So continue reading and sending me your questions or comments and I'll try my best to get the answers to you all.

As for the next chapter: Preparations for the chuunin exam begin as the genin start to buckle down in their training. Naruto tries to amke sense of his new arsenal of techniques. Also, what was Hinata's discovery? What does Kakashi's team's discovery mean and what impact could it have? And what of the prophecy? All that, and maybe more, in the next chapter.


	13. Chapter 13

Wow, this is the longest I've gone without updating, and I am sorry to that. I'm not gonna spout off some excuse about school or work, cuz I am working on this through all my studying and working. It's just a common curse among some of us writers on this website. Writer's block just sux. Well, this chapter can be considered another interlude, but it isn't, as it helps progress the story to the next level. I hope you all enjoy this one.

A note to a couple of reviewers before I go on. To Baka Hanyou Rahvin: To the Sasuke comment, I didn't like Sasuke either but that was from the regular anime and manga. In this chapter, it helps to shed a light on his lighter side. That's one of the points I'm trying to make with him. He acts stoic in my story because the people in his clan have such a superior air about them that Sasuke tends to buy into it, but he is more friendly and outgoing. Why that is, will be discussed later in my story.

To Battousai222, I understand how you like Naruto, the character, and want him to be accepted, strong, and respected. But the fact is is that he just can't be super-strong for no apparent reason. Yes, there are shinobi in the village that are strong but they are nothing compared to their sensei's. The only reason why Naruto was so damn strong in the anime and manga is because he had the Kyuubi, who's chakra has been slowly melding into him. He only became abnormally strong when the Kyuubi's chakra took dominance over Naruto. But in my story, the Kyuubi is not sealed inside Naruto. He's just a shinobi, the son of the Yondaime, and has had some extra tutilege from Jiraiya and sometimes, his father. I'm not saying he won't be strong, but I'm also not saying he will be god-like. He will have to grow stronger like the rest of the genin have had to.

Now that that is past, I want to say something to my reviewers. Thank you very much, your positive, "encouraging", reviews helped me when I seemed to be stuck. Thank you to all the regular reviewers who take the time to review after most of my chapters. I enjoy reading your reviews. Anybody else, you don't have to be shy about voicing opinions or such, I just hope it isn't flames. And finally, I will let you all get on with the next chapter. Hope you enjoy it, but I warn you, it may be a little choppy. It isn't my best work. Let me know what you think. Gah, there I go again. Here's the chapter.

Chapter 13 - The Prophecy and The Festival Commences

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The sun rose and it's morning rays shined down upon Konohagakure. Outside the homes of the inhabitants of this village, birds sang the praises of this morning. This morning was special, and it seemed that even nature knew that. Where normally an autumn wind would flow through the air and give way for chilly days, there was only a light breeze and not a single dark cloud in the sky. Yes, this day would be special.

The reason that this day was to be perfect was that this was the first day of the highly anticipated Festival of Fire.

All around Fire Country, numerous people had been flocking to Konoha and neighboring cities, crowding the areas with tourists who had come to witness the occasion. For two weeks, Konoha would serve as host to this festival and welcome in any who would want to take part in the tradition. This was a big boon to the economy as the tourists would pour out vast amounts of money in order to enjoy themselves. Yes, it would be a great time.

However, not all was well. Despite the overall pleasure of this time, there were a few others who were not as ecstatic over the occasion.

One such person was Uzumaki Arashi.

It had been ten or so days since the visit of the three strangers that shed light upon a series of events...that hadn't even happened yet. The woman, who seemed to be dear friends with his wife, was most peculiar. He had thought that she was full of it, not believing in such things as fate and destiny, so the idea of a prophet knowing a cryptic message from the future was in the category of 'bull' in his mind. Yet he continued having strange dreams about the visitors, and the woman's words.

(Flashback)

_The Yondaime was on his way to his home, where he would hope to enjoy a nice meal and a healthy conversation with his family on the day they all had. As he entered his house, he immediately felt the foreign presences. Storming towards the source, he saw Collette sipping on a cup of tea with three people he did not recognize._

_Two of these people were men, their heads bald and almost shining like a reflective surface underneath the overhead lights of the kitchen. Their black and dark purple robes were the material you would expect from...men of the faith. 'These men are monks' he thought to himself as he carefully looked at them in scrutiny. Everyone seemed to become aware of his presence and turned to see him._

_The men were similar looking, with their heads bald and in the same wardrobe, but they had slightly different facial features. One appeared to be as old as 40 while the other looked as though he could be no older than 20._

_The other person was a woman. The way she sat there, something just gave off an aura of wisdom. This aura would have deceived Arashi into believing she was older than 50 but her appearance said otherwise. Her face was young and her complexion was of a slight tannish color. Her hair was long, flowing down to mid-shoulder blade length, and it was gorgeous, silky black with salt-colored strands of hair scattered about. The dark brown color of her eyes helped finalize an illusion of contrast. If he had to guess, Arashi would have said she was in her mid-thirties._

_"Hello there, my good sir. You must be Arashi, oh Collette has sung praises of your wonderful deeds." She stopped talking, but then seemed to forget something. "Oh, I apologize, where are my manners, I-"_

_"Arashi, this is Sister Serena. She is from the same monastery I came from." interrupted Collette, which seemed to surprise everyone in the room._

_"Serena, hmm? 'Sister'...Serena?" As he asked the question he looked to both women for the answer. The woman known as Serena chuckled whole-heartedly._

_"Oh, no dear. I am not her biological sister. That is just the title we miko's passed on to each other in the monastery." She then laughed again, but not in a teasing or mocking sort of way, so it did not upset Arashi. But the way she seemed to be speaking, especially using dear to refer to him, was more than curious enough to make him reconsider some earlier points._

_"Actually, Lady Collette, no longer is she known by that title in the monastery. She is considered the holy mother of that location." The information that one of the men, the older one, told to Collette seemed to be considered huge, since her eyes became wide and her jaw dropped in surprise._

_"Oh my...that's amazing Serena!" exclaimed Collette, turning her dropped jaw into a wide smile._

_After Arashi overcame his nervousness at the presence of these strangers, he sat down and enjoyed supper. Naruto was asked if he did not mind going to eat at Ichiraku's that night so they could discuss matters. He obliged and left, leaving dinner to the adults. The conversation was all about the monastery: from the occurances while Collette was away, to the explanation of the titles to Arashi. He discovered that the holy mother's job was to run the temple she was located at, hear all matters relating to incidents that involved the temple and it's inhabitants, and 'deal' with issues that required the participation of the mikos and monks of the monastery. The two men - Mikhail, the older one, and Bastion, the younger one - were considered the strongest of the monks at the shrine. This rose the curiosity of Arashi, because he believed that the people at those temples did not practice combat because they were pacifists. He was corrected by Mikhail, saying that they preferred to be non-aggressive, but they had to be trained to deal with the unnatural. That category included malevolent spirits, tainted souls, and demons. _

_As dinner went on, Arashi noticed that Collette seemed to be a bit quieter than usual. She was also staring off into space and biting her lower lip. "Collette, are you okay?"_

_She heard him but didn't react to it like one might expect. Instead of jumping out of her skin, being startled, and stuttering over herself, she looked towards Serena a bit timidly._

_"Uh...umm...Mother Serena, didn't you say you had something you needed to discuss with Arashi when he got home?" Her question got the attention of the lady in question, but she looked as if she did not know what Collette was talking about. But a few moments later, it was like a bulb brightened in her face._

_"Ah yes...the prophecy." she stated with a dark and serious tone._

_"Prophecy?" asked Arashi._

_"Yes, Hokage-sama. A prophecy. Among our people, it is not uncommon for someone to be specially gifted with a rare ability. The people with this ability are very special to all of us, as they provide a service that we take full advantage of when capable. These people are given a title: Prophet."_

_Arashi paid close attention, although, as soon as the term prophet came up, he became immediately skeptical. Prophets were people who others considered grand because they could supposedly foretell the future. Arashi was a firm believer that a person makes their own path, that it is not set in stone what will happen to someone in their life. And he considered the people who believed that their path was foretold by some greater being to be weak. The only thing that was inevitable is the one thing everybody shares with each other: the 'fate' of death._

_Not aware of his skepticism, Serena continued. "This ability that is blessed upon these people can be considered a blessing to those that can take advantage of the prophecies foretold, but it's power is considered a curse to those that hold it. Voices will tell them what will happen, visions will be seen in their sleep, and they are constantly burdened with the task of trying to fix what should not be fixed._

_"I...am one of those people." Collette's eyes seemed to bulge out of their sockets and her face looked horrified._

_"Mother Serena...'you' are the prophet?" When the woman nodded her head grimly, Collette hung her's. "I feared that that was the case. You seemed...empty when I first saw you." After a few more moments of deafening silence, she finally found her voice again. "So...Mother Serena, what is the prophecy you foresaw."_

_Serena looked at Arashi, dead in the eyes, as if demanding his attention, as well as his understanding. "I regret that I do not know any more than this. Three times, I have heard the voice speak to me. Three times, three different messages._

_"The first message: A snake bears it's fangs. It's venom will poison slowly. The second message: The sins of the Father will lead to tragedy and regret. And the third message: Dragons will try to lay siege upon the Kingdom of Leaves."_

_Arashi listened and processed the words and thought about them carefully. They were cryptic, that was for sure. Before he could think more about it, Serena continued. "These messages did not come without visions. I was plagued by these visions in my sleep as the messages repeated themselves._

_"With the first message, I saw blackened skies, impenetrable by any source of light, and flowing with bloody clouds." Arashi raised his eyebrows at that one, his eyes going a bit wide. "With the second message, I saw a frail girl with pale skin with tears in her eyes and trembling in fear." Again, Arashi quickly processed the information, and his eyes widened again. She couldn't mean... "And with the final message, I saw mirrors, and the people who stood there, looking into their mirror, had the reflection of something completely different. Whether you choose to believe me, to believe what I have told you, will be up to you." _

_Serena motioned for both men to follow her as she stood up and started to make her way towards the front door to leave. Collette and Arashi watched in mix surprise and worry. They promptly followed suit to gather an explanation._

_"Oh no dear. It is nothing that has been done that we are leaving. We just must be going." spoke Serena._

_"But, you must stay. It is already evening time, after all. Please stay." Collette seemed to be begging. She did not want one of her closest friends to leave so suddenly._

_"Sister Collette, you know I must go. Don't make this harder on me. I don't like this anymore than you do. But I can't stay."_

_Arashi chose to end the argument. "If you must go, then we both wish you well. Do not be a stranger, a friend of my wife is welcome here anytime." His face went from warm to serious quite suddenly. "But there is one thing I have to ask of you." Serena looked him in the eyes, the green he had seen before was not as vibrant as he thought. They were more pale and seemed to hold a heaviness in them. "You have come and have passed on this information for you think it might be relevant to my village. You say that you came with a prophecy, but all I have heard of are visions and voices that told you cryptic messages. My question is...What is the prophecy?"_

_She gave him a very peculiar look before it seemed as though her eyes phased out, not focusing on anything particular. Just as quickly as this change occurred, her eyes refocused and took in the surroundings, though she shook her head as if trying to wake herself up. "The prophecy, Hokage-sama, is this..."_

_In her hands was a letter, held out for him to take hold of it. As he tried to seize it, she tightened her grip, not letting him take it easily, so that she may press a matter of importance onto him. "You must remember, Arashi, that this can only be accepted if you accept that this is possible. I am no fool, I see your doubt, and your mind clearly dismisses any of this as possible_. _But if it weren't possible, then I wouldn't be here. Read this note, but only if you are willing to accept the burden as I have." She then released her grip and Arashi took the note and read it without hesitation. It wasn't that he now believed her, but his curiosity had peaked._

_Only one line was written on it. "Protect the Legacy of Konoha."_

(End Flashback)

The woman had left afterwards. The departure made Collette sad, but it infuriated Arashi. And he only became angrier. The reason for his anger, for his frustration was simple. Despite how much he told himself otherwise, despite how he had viewed things like this before...

_'Why do I believe her?'_

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Naruto was happy. Well, he wouldn't put it in such minor terms, but that was the case in a nutshell. The reason for his rising spirits was not because of the festival. He could care less about the traditional occasion. The streets were filled with tourists busying themselves with any little thing.

The mass of tourists would gawk as the ninjas of the village would hop across buildings, they would pester passing shinobi to let them see or hold their 'cool' weapons, or they would merely ask dumb questions like 'What is it like to be a ninja?' or 'Don't you ever get scared doing what you do?' That was why Naruto hated all the fancy parties and social gatherings. They always seemed to bring out the inner-idiot of a lot of people.

But he wouldn't be pulled down by this fact. He was happy, and nothing was going to ruin his mood. The reason? He was going to the hospital today to see his mother about getting rid of his cast.

As he hopped along the roofs of buildings, he swore he heard a familiar voice call out to him. Turning his head to look behind him, he saw Hinata jumping towards him. "Naruto...wait..." He stopped and waited for her, she finally catching up to him and landing close to him, panting slightly. "Finally...caught up to you..."

"You're out of shape, girl." he teased her, making her already flushed face burn more red. "So what's up? What did you want?"

"Y-You said you were getting your cast r-removed today, so I was going t-to come too." she responded, finally straightening up.

"Oh? You can get out of your cast today as well?" When she nodded, Naruto beamed. "Alright! Now we can get back to training."

She smiled and nodded again and they set off to get to the hospital. Once there, they waited for his mother to call them in for the quick procedure. The removal was easy enough, using a rather intimidating mechanism known as a medical buzzsaw to pierce through the material, which had hardened over time. After getting it off - and a thorough session of scratching the areas that had been covered since they itched like crazy - Collette gave them a temporary bracer. She explained that the bracers would help give support to the limbs in case they weren't fully healed yet. The bracers were also infused with the medical chakra that the casts had been.

Hinata's bracer was very unique, since her injury was unique. It was designed for her arm to slip through it and it would give the desired support once the sleeve reacher her shoulder joint. The sleeve covered most of her humerus bone and hugged at her shoulder joint, and a velcro strap could be used to adjust the level of support on her shoulder blade.

Naruto's bracer just slipped onto his arm and the velcro strap on it could be used to adjust the level of support for his healing fracture. After they both slipped their's on, they bid farewell to Collette and left the hospital, ready to go to their training grounds and get to work with Yamato and Sasuke. Little did they know, somebody else had other plans for them.

"Yosh, I finally get the opportunity to meet the son of our mighty Hokage!" spoke an individual who seemed to not know the meaning of restraint. After recovering from the booming voice, Naruto turned to face the person...and was startled by the sight before him.

It was a boy with a bowl hair cut and thick eyebrows, that seemed to be alive with the way they twitched, though it reminded Naruto a bit of a very furry caterpillar. Attached to the boy was what seemed like a second skin, the green spandex suit looked atrocious. Across his waist, acting like a belt for some inexplicable reason (seeing as how he didn't need it with the spandex suit) was the hitai-ite of Konoha. His legs had orange leggings covering the shins and much of the lower leg and he had black shoes on to complete the outfit.

"Um...who are you?" questioned Naruto.

"My name is Rock Lee and I wish to test your flames of youth against mine." spoke Lee, who's black eyes seemed to shine.

"Uh...come again?" Naruto was a bit perplexed by this guy's appearance. But another foreign voice broke through his confusion and shined some light on his question.

"He means he wants to spar with you, to test his abilities against you." came the voice of a young girl. When Naruto saw her, he quickly took in her appearance.

She seemed to be no older than this boy, him, or Hinata. Her dark hair was done up into twin buns atop her head and came down across her forehead, but not enough that it would hide her hitai-ite of Konoha. She had on a sleeveless pink shirt that looked like it would part down the middle, if not for the light brown bands that connected to buttons on both sides of the shirt. She also had on dark pants that became pretty baggy down by the middle of her lower legs and stopped there too. A little bit of skin on her legs showed before her shoes covered the rest.

"Oh, hi Hinata-chan. You got your cast off today?" asked the girl to Hinata.

"Hai, Tenten-chan. Both me and Naruto-kun." replied Hinata.

Tenten looked at Hinata, then to Naruto, then to Hinata again. "Ah, so you are the infamous Naruto, eh? Hinata says you two are great friends." She then looked Naruto up and down, as if judging him. "I'm a bit surprised, you don't seem like how I thought you might look. She says you are strong but..."

Naruto turned to look at Hinata, who had her head hung in an attempt to not be seen with the furious blush on her face. He gave up looking to her for a response and instead went back to the newcomers.

"I'm sorry, but am I supposed to know you two?" he asked.

"Don't waste your time, Lee. That Uchiha who is his teammate would probably be better competition than he would be." came a voice that sounded cold and indifferent.

Naruto knew it could belong to only one person. Looking in the direction of the voice, Naruto saw the long hair, cream-colored jacket, and dark shorts with bandages on his limbs, of Hyuuga Neji. He was leaning against one of the hospital's outside walls, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes closed as if he were either asleep or thinking.

Naruto glared at the boy, sending a wave of malevolent intent directly towards him. Everyone seemed to notice it too...except for Neji. Lee tensed - as if ready to defend Neji, Tenten did the same thing - but also frowning at Neji, and Hinata shot her head up, looking at Naruto with pleading eyes.

It was Lee who broke the awkward moment with his awkward attitude. "I don't think your assumptions are accurate, Neji-san. I sense a great fire within him, and it burns brightly."

"I sense more than 'youthful fire' in him." added Tenten, referring to the intent that Naruto was directing at Neji.

Naruto, who suddenly felt a tugging on his windbreakers right sleeve, looked at Hinata and saw her eyes begging him not to confront Neji. He looked at her accusingly and with a more furious glare than he meant to, so he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Calming down a bit, he opened his eyes, mouthed an 'I'm sorry' to Hinata, and relaxed. He suddenly remembered the earlier words of Lee.

"A sparring match, hmm?" he thought out loud, gaining a hopeful look from Lee. "Sorry, not right now. I gotta catch up with our sensei on what I have missed. Been forced out of action by the injury, see?" he stated, pointing at his arm, while rolling down the sleeve to reveal the brace. "Maybe some time later."

"Oh..." was the only response from Lee, until his head perked up at a thought. "Then maybe Hinata-san wouldn't mind. Surely, the cousin of my rival will prove to be a fantastic challenge. Will you?"

Hinata seemed to actually ponder it, but Naruto knew better. She always wanted to please anybody she came in contact with, but right now, she was a bit nervous. She probably didn't want to, but she would accept, if only to make Lee happy.

"Don't bother, Lee. While Naruto is a disgrace to the family name of our Hokage, Hinata is more of a blacksheep than he is." came the response of Neji. He spoke it so calmly and so casually, that it seemed to not even bother him that he openly insulted his family relative. That...was the straw.

Before anyone knew what was happening, a familiar sound was picked up by the ears of Lee, Tenten, and Hinata - which made her wince. The sound of skin-to-skin contact at high impact. Once everyone turned towards the source of the noise, they all stood shocked.

Neji...was on the ground, with blood dribbling out of the corner of his mouth. The cause was Naruto's fist to his face. An uncanny look of seething hatred filtered from the blonde shinobi that made Hinata cringe. But she didn't expect what Naruto said next.

"I don't care what you say about me, because I deserve some criticism. Maybe I have not lived up to expectations set forth as the 'son of the Hokage.' But...if I hear you speak of Hinata like that, you'll have more than a busted lip to tend to." The venom in his words seemed to promise unpleasantness in the future for the arrogant Hyuuga, but he seemed unphased.

Standing up, he wiped at the blood and then spat out the remainder of it. "You won't do that again." In his mind, he was kicking himself mentally. He had just been shown up, in front of his team, by the blacksheep. He barely even had time to react to move away from the wall but the boy's fist followed suit just as quickly and hit him with ridiculous force. He got into the stance of the Jyuuken and armed his byakugan. Naruto tightened his muscles, ready for any sudden movement.

Meanwhile, Hinata - who had been conflicting within herself about what was going on, cursed herself for her own cowardice. Naruto had defended her, and she was grateful for that, but he was still fighting with Neji. And it seemed that Neji was about to do the same thing. Gritting her teeth, she mustered all her will into the next action.

"Naruto-kun, Neji-niisan, STOP!" Neji never would have reacted in the slightest to his cousin, but this was different. Where she had always seemed to be quietly pleading with someone to do something, here she had actually demanded it. Remembering who he was to Hinata, and cursing her for it as well, he reluctantly relaxed. Naruto, seeing this, and registering Hinata's voice, relaxed as well.

"I apologize for my actions, Lady Hinata." The title he gave her oozed with venom as he sent a glare towards her. "I will take my leave. But understand this, blacksheep. You will not do that again. That was just luck. Next time, if you don't have my cousin protecting you, I will crush you." He then turned around and stalked down the street, sending glares at anyone who was in his way.

Tenten was deliberating on what to do. If she just let Neji go down the street without someone to watch over him, he might let what happened brood on until he might become unapproachable. But as she considered that, she did have to take in the account that he had been shown up. Neji's demeanor was one of supreme confidence. He had only been shown up before by their sensei. And it was the same then as it was this time. Neji had not expected Gai's speed, just as he did not expect Naruto's. As Tenten made up her mind to follow Neji, she bid farewell to Lee, Naruto, and Hinata, and took off after the hyuuga boy.

Lee, now abandoned by his team, seemed to be sulking. Now what was he supposed to do. "Guess I'll go home too." he said miserably.

"Hey, you said Neji is your rival right?" Naruto asked the boy in green. Lee nodded. "So does that mean he pisses you off too?"

"Neji's spirit lacks the enthusiasm you would see from our sensei. No matter how much Gai-sensei and I try, we cannot break through his barrier."

"Would that mean he is always an ass?" Naruto made a mental note to apologize to Hinata after this was all over.

"Well...if you want to put it in such vulgar terms, then the answer would have to be yes. Might I ask you how you managed to move like you did, Naruto-san?" Lee was very eager to find out how. No matter how hard he tried, he never seemed to be able to out-maneuver Neji and catch him off guard.

"I just did what came naturally. That's all." He watched as Lee thought about his words and seemed to be disappointed.

"So, there was no special technique?" When Naruto nodded, Lee's head hung again. _'Why is it that all these geniuses have it so easy. I try and try and I can never seem to gain on them.'_ "Naruto-san, you really are special."

"Wait, what? No, no, no. I'm not anything special. I'm not like Sasuke, Hinata-chan, or, damn I hate to say this, the teme, Neji. All I have is me." He then looked up to the sky, saw the sun, and then became frantic. "Crap, we gotta go Hinata-chan. Maybe we can spar later, Lee. Gotta meet my team. See ya." And he and Hinata took off onto the rooftops and made their way to their training area.

Lee stood there, still in shock, the words Naruto spoke echoing in his mind. _'All I have is me.'_ "Thank you, Naruto-san. Your words have lifted my spirits. I will never forget them." He then turned around and made his way back to his team's training area, feeling suddenly motivated to put in another full day's worth of exercise while he had the chance.

----------------

"Katon: Fireball Technique!" A fireball raced towards the user's target but once again, the target disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Sasuke then began scanning the area around him quickly. _'Crap, beneath.'_ He tried to jump away, but the ground underneath him gave out and a blonde-haired boy shot towards him, fist outstretched. He made contact with Sasuke but it was only a Kawarimi, as a log suddenly took it's place. He then felt a presence behind him and knew he was screwed.

"Katon: Stream of Flames!" When he finished his handseals, Sasuke breathed out a flowing stream of fire that looked like it would incinerate Naruto at any moment. That would happen, if he had put the amount of chakra into it to do such damage. But if anything, it would burn him, but not even badly enough to be considered dangerous.

That was the way they were told to spar with each other. If you used ninjutsu or genjutsu, make them weak enough to not be dangerous. Yamato still frowned upon Sasuke's use of fire techniques in practices, but Sasuke always countered with how would he know they would be effective against other opponents unless he tested them against someone. Yamato couldn't deny that logic, so he resigned to being on medic duty during these little sessions. Plus, he was eager to see if Naruto or Hinata had lost any steps.

The fire stream got close to Naruto but he dived to the right, barely missing the edges of the flame. When he gathered his balance, he saw Sasuke dashing right at him. He and Sasuke exchanged blows and counters, trying to catch each other off guard just once, but no one seemingly grabbing the advantage. They both then caught each other's fists and they vied for position in the struggle of raw power. Naruto was beginning to win, so Sasuke smirked and kicked off with his left foot, sending a knee right to Naruto's face, forcing the boy to back off a good bit.

By the time Naruto , he felt the familiar surge of chakra, and looked in the direction of his opponent. The boy already had finished the seals, and Naruto realized what Sasuke was trying to do. _'Damnit, no matter what, it's a lose-lose situation. Damn you, teme.'_

"Katon: Grand Fireball Technique!" Now a much larger fireball was fired towards Naruto, and it was moving with surprising speed. That, given with the limited space between the two, left only one option for Naruto.

"Damn you, teme. I'll get you for this. Futon: Falcon Arrow!" Suddenly, the air Naruto twisted and spun with an incredible velocity and a burst could be seen as the ripples seemed to distort the very air the attack traveled. With amazing precision and potent piercing ability, the blast of air penetrated into the core of the fireball, where the attack destabilized and the fireball exploded in grand style, fitting the name it was given.

Yamato, personally, was impressed. He was about to freak when he saw Sasuke using more chakra than was needed for the fireball, but when Naruto interrupted his thoughts with the name of the technique he used, and then saw what that attack could do, Yamato became curious. The technique seemed to be offensive in nature, as are most futon jutsus, but this one seemed to be more useful than most offensive techniques.

Even more interesting was the fact that Naruto didn't seem to be winded by this point. In fact, if Yamato was correct, then Naruto's chakra reserves had become much more adequate for the style of fighting the boy wanted to implement. If he kept up this pace, then he might surpass Sasuke. But this would only push Sasuke further, which was happening at this moment. Yamato preferred to see his students spar with taijutsu, but as long as they kept the other things relatively safe for each other, then he wouldn't argue.

Sasuke was trying to see through all of the unsettled dust and smoke from the explosion for his opponent, but when everything cleared, Naruto wasn't there. Sasuke, suddenly going on alert, felt the presence of his teammate behind him and barely ducked a kick aiming for the back of his head. Intending on taking advantage of an exposed Naruto, Sasuke dashed for him and led with his shoulder to knock the boy down and be completely vulnerable to a more powerful attack.

Naruto, however, knew that Sasuke would duck and thought that he would attempt to hit him while he was 'vulnerable', so Naruto had purposefully dragged his other foot close to the ground while attempting the kick. Now that he could hear Sasuke behind him, he applied the chakra to his feet that would anchor him to the ground and stop any forward momentum. Successfully achieving this goal, he turned around on a dime and swung the other leg around in a reverse sweep.

Sasuke saw Naruto do this but could not apply the chakra to his feet fast enough to help him to stop and maneuver away from the sweeping kick. The blow struck at his ankles and he knew he was now defeated. He watched helplessly as he saw Naruto complete the sweeping motion and then plant his weight onto the foot that was just used for the attack. Now kicking off with that foot, the other one connected full impact with Sasuke's sternum and sent the boy tumbling and skidding across the ground on his side until he finally came to a stop. Coughing from the dirt that had gotten into his mouth, he rubbed his chest while wincing.

"Damn Naruto, nice move. I didn't see that one coming." He then looked Naruto in the eye, seeing the boy's pleased look, and immediately found a way to irritate his teammate. "Lucky shot though. I won't let that happen again."

Naruto then felt a vein pop on to his head. "Can't you just accept your loss? Besides, I won the bet. Yatta!" Naruto was very happy he had landed that blow. That meant that Sasuke would have to do something Naruto told him to do, which was the stipulation of their little match.

Sasuke cursed under his breath. But then he recalled something else about the stipulation of the match, and smirked triumphantly. "Yeah, you won that bet, but remember the other one?" He saw Naruto freeze up and look at him in shock. When he nodded his head, Sasuke swore he could hear the boy gulp. "You were so confident you could defeat me that you bet you wouldn't have to use any of your new jutsus you've been learning. But you did, so I win too. So you have to do something I say when I tell you to, dobe. And I think I'll save this."

Yamato decided it was enough of their playful bantering. Standing up, he cleared his throat for attention, which all three genin did give him, and he decided to set up the next task. "Very good, you two. I'm impressed with your progression, Naruto, and your's as well, Sasuke. Now it's time to see about Hinata. Naruto, spar with Hinata. It'll help give me an accurate judge of where all of you are at compared to each other."

Naruto nodded and turned to Hinata, who was getting up from her sitting position. She had been watching the match in fascination, surprised to see that Naruto didn't look like he lost a step. But now Yamato was wanting her to spar with him and she was still apprehensive with her byakugan. She and her father had worked on her vision but it didn't seem to be making much progress. The source of the lines was unclear and so her vision would become cloudy. It was as if she were trying to see with her byakugan for the very first time. Trying to see past the lines and focus her vision so as to not pick up the lines was the most difficult thing.

As she approached the middle of the field where Naruto was waiting, she warred with herself. Should she try to use her byakugan and work on her jyuuken or should she not do that and just work on her mobility in their match. Naruto, of course, would want her to not go easy on him but would Naruto do the same thing? She wouldn't want to be treated any differently, so she hoped he wouldn't coddle her.

They stood apart each other and he grinned at her as they waited for their sensei to give out the command for their sparring match. He always set up the regulations so that they wouldn't end up hurting each other by going overboard but it was becoming too routine. However, Yamato always made a point of saying how much of a difference it makes to their practices if he constantly changes how they are to work with each other. Becoming too routine to an area of fighting with a familiar opponent leads to no progression.

"Alright, you two. No ninjutsu or genjutsu and I want you, Hinata, to not use your byakugan. Five points and it's over, got it?" They both nodded, Hinata getting into her jyuuken stance and Naruto getting into an unfamiliar stance of his own. "Okay then, begin."

While Hinata was in her jyuuken stance, she wasn't careless enough to just go about swinging with hakke strikes when she wasn't using the byakugan. That was inviting serious injury to Naruto, so she would refrain from doing that. Slightly thankful that Naruto couldn't do any jutsus, she actually found herself a little confident. _'Where's that coming from? Is Naruto really rubbing off on me?'_ she asked herself before she was jerked from her thoughts by the sudden blur of Naruto. She barely picked up on his presence to her left before she blocked a punch and then set about blocking a myriad of punches and kicks from the hyper-active blonde, grimacing when she seemed to not find a way around the assault. If she could just slip into one of the attacks and parry it correctly then she would be able to land a blow, but Naruto was merciless...and she was thankful for that.

It went on like this for eight rounds, back and forth and then back again. First it was Naruto who landed the first blow and then the second one. And then the third one. But as he started to get a look on his face that showed him feeling guilty, he felt that maybe she wasn't fully recovered. When Hinata saw his hesitation to go all-out again, she became very upset, something Naruto was not used to.

"Naruto-kun, don't you go easy on me." she said with a slightly angered look on her face. She didn't want to be cuddled, coddled, or treated with sympathy. If she couldn't win, then she didn't deserve to win. Exposing a weakness only leads to strength. If she couldn't fight without her byakugan then she would practice without it. If she couldn't fight and defeat someone without the jyuuken, then she would practice fighting without it. Radiating determination, she saw Naruto nod in understanding and come back at her, but this time Hinata was channeling all her newfound determination and actually succeeded in landing three straight blows. Then Naruto landed another blow, but she landed her own blow after that.

It was four to four and the next one would decide the winner. Sasuke and Yamato were more than surprised to see them going at it with such fire. Yamato personally didn't think Naruto had it in him to fight the hyuuga girl at full power but he also believed that Hinata couldn't fight Naruto evenly without her specialities playing a part in the fight. But, as was becoming normal, he was being proven wrong. Naruto was going full force, the bruises on Hinata's forearms from her blocking and parrying his attacks proof of that. Meanwhile, Hinata was proving to be more adept at fighting at a much more furious pace. He felt that Naruto had an advantage because of his speed. Hinata seemed to move at much more steady, fluid pace, while Naruto was unpredictable and lightning quick. But she was adapting, a trait that only the truly talented possessed.

He, as well as Sasuke, watched as they engaged each other one last time to decide the final blow. It was never Yamato's intention to make these stipulations in an attempt to destroy his teams resolve. It was instead used as a motivator. And motivate it did. Never before had he seen such determination from both parties that were fighting each other.

And as quickly as it had all started, it seemed to finish with just as much quickness but with much more drama. After more blocking and parrying, Hinata thrusted her left palm at Naruto's chest without using hakke but Naruto was in the middle of swinging his right hand around in a knife-edge chop and they both struck each other at the exact same time. Someone who was waiting for a decisive winner might consider it anticlimatic but to Yamato it was the perfect ending. Although, he wished Naruto had refrained from striking Hinata where he did.

Naruto staggered back from the blow to his chest but was happy that he landed his blow too. "Looks like we tied." he said while trying to catch his breath. Unfortunately, he had struck Hinata in a tender area, her right shoulder. He saw through his wincing the girl holding the sore shoulder and he immediately felt guilty for hitting her there but was surprised when she actually smiled at him.

"Yeah, we did." she said through her own gasps for air. She hadn't been training all that hard to keep up her endurance for the past week and a half so she was amazed with herself that she could keep up with Naruto. Finally, she regained her composure and looked to their sensei. "D-Did we do a good job?"

"Why yes, yes you did. You three are exceeding expectations. You should all be proud. I'm now thinking it wasn't such a bad idea to offer you three the chance to participate in the Chuunin Selection Exams."

What he didn't know, and neither did the rest of them realize they were being watched. That was until Yamato's mysterious connection with the earth and roots alerted him of someone snooping in the shadows of the trees.

"You know, if you are going to hide, I would do it a little better than that." He then turned his attention towards the person's presence and was a bit surprised by the appearance of an unfamiliar youth. The boy had brown hair that was a bit shaggy and unkempt, with average skin and black eyes that seemed to radiate energy. He wore a long sleeve white shirt with a reddish brown short-sleeve vest of some kind. His pants looked like Hinata's, but they were the same reddish-brown color as the boy's vest. And especially unfamiliar was the hitai-ite. It did not signify him as a Konoha nin, nor as any of the other big village's nin. In fact, he had never seen that logo before. It was an upside-down triangle with a small kanji written in the middle.

"Eh, sorry bout that. I saw what happened at the village hospital so I decided to follow them." he said pointing at Naruto and Hinata. Naruto scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "Tell me, is it usual for fellow villagers to fight each other like that?"

Yamato thought to himself about just who might Naruto fight in the village besides Sasuke and realized who it was. "Guess I'll have to have a talk with you, Naruto." Naruto grumbled underneath his breath but gulped quite audibly when he felt Yamato activate his 'Scary-Mode On'. "But your hitai-ite...it reads shadow right?"

"Yeah, it does. Me and my team are here for the chuunin exams and we're excited to have the opportunity to come here and bask in your country's tradition. Your Hokage is a generous man." He then yawned and adjusted his headband. "It does read shadows because we are a new village. The Kagegakure no Sato." The boy then flashed a cheesy smile that Naruto seemed to recognize.

"Wait a minute. Would you happen to be from Lightning Country?" When the boy's smile brightened further, Naruto knew he was correct. _'He was one of the three genin on that paper I saw in dad's office.'_

"What's going on, kid. What are you doing?" came the voice of a perturbed individual that also appeared from the shade. This one was also male but there was something strangely different about him. While the first boy seemed to be friendly and flowed with energy, and appeared to be normal to some degree, this one had long, flowing light blue hair with a few strand bangs that he flicked in an arrogant gesture, light and pale skin, and gray-tinted pupils for eyes that spoke smugly for him what he didn't need to say. His clothing was simple yet extravagant. The only thing you could see on him was a full body cloak that was metallic silver in color and buttoned at the neck for easy discarding. Needless to say, Naruto already judged this guy to be just like Neji and Sasuke - at least, the Sasuke Naruto had come to know before the first couple of days of practice. "Did they finish yet?"

"Yeah they finished Zeke. It was fun watching them, they're really talented." Then the brown-haired boy looked at them. "Hey, are you all registered for the Chuunin Exams?"

"Yes, we are. But who are you?" asked Sasuke, a bit perturbed by the sudden appearance of these people who were interrupting their training session. Sasuke didn't have a one-track mind but then again, watching how Hinata and Naruto seemed to be on even par against each other made his blood boil and he wanted another chance to redeem himself against Naruto or Hinata.

"Don't worry about names. If you are in the Chuunin Exams, then we'll meet then. Come on, kid, we gotta go meet the Hokage with Sensei." said the smug boy.

"Doesn't that get annoying, being called a kid by your own teammate?" asked Naruto, more than a little peeved at the attitude of this arrogant guy towards his own teammate.

"No, no, it's okay. That's my nickname." At Naruto's questioning glance, the young boy continued. "My name is Kidremé. But everyone just calls me 'Kid.' Ya see?"

Naruto scratched at his chin, then looked at the arrogant boy, then at the boy known as Kid, and nodded his head. "Alright, if you say so. But I still say your partner is too smug for his own good."

The said arrogant boy then walked very confidently over to Naruto but then right past him to Hinata. "A Hyuuga eh?" and then his attention turned to Sasuke. "And an Uchiha. Not bad. Hope the third member on your team isn't a weak third wheel." He then chuckled as he felt Naruto's killer intent rise, but he wasn't at all worried, which surprised Yamato.

"Listen, where ever your sensei is, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want you to be making trouble as guests of our village. It might do you good to just leave right now." The words were meant to be treated as a friendly reminder but they were not heeded as such.

But before anything volatile could happen, another figure approached and this one caught everyone off guard. "Would you stop making such a scene, Ezekiel. Sensei's gonna be angry with you for sure if you go picking a fight with this village's shinobi." The voice belonged to a young girl with slightly raven-black hair but as she got closer you could tell that it was a very dark-violet color. The boy looked at her with a pleading expression but then seemed to settle down.

Yamato was especially stunned by this person's presence. He barely felt her approach but now that he was aware of her being here, he was met with a unique feeling. It was as if he were feeling a presence that was here but shouldn't be here. It was confusing him. She was there, but it didn't feel right. Even more strange was that she had wrapping on over her eyes. But she was maneuvering with ease and not even hesitant in her approach. No walking stick, no slight hesitation, just fluid movement.

"I apologize for my teammates if they troubled you. My friend here," she said, pointing to the pretty boy, "is called Ezekiel, but we just call him Zeke. And I thought I heard you being introduced to Kid, here, so I guess that leaves me. My name is Elru." The girl then slightly bowed to everyone and straightened herself while 'looking' towards her teammates. "Get over here and let's get a move on. Come on."

Yamato decided to do the only thing that was right at the current moment. His team needed a chance to cool down and these visitors might need an escort. "Hold up, you three. I'll escort you to the Hokage's Tower." They stopped, looked at each other, and agreed. Yamato then looked at his genin. "You all go ahead and have a lunch break. Meet me back here in one hour."

As Yamato left with the three visiting shinobi, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke decided to go ahead and get something to eat at a restaurant. As they walked along, one thing was going through their minds. _'Something isn't right about those shinobi.'_

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(Hokage's Tower)

Arashi was taking sips of his tea and enjoying the company present. Sitting across from him was a friend from his past. The man had changed in age and some facial features, but overall, he was the same. The man had on form-fitting black bodywear, dark blue body armor, and a sky blue cape on over that. He looked a bit regal but the look was largely contrasted by the attitude of the individual. Arashi had spoken with this man on many an occasion and found that the man was incredibly intelligent, wise, and insightful. His views and philosophies seemed to help shed some new light into the beliefs of Arashi himself and he was eager to see what his friend was up to with this latest turn of events.

"So, a new village, eh?" he asked, not looking at his friend but instead at the cup of tea.

"Well, sorta. It's not a village...at least not yet. You have to start somwhere though. It's more of a school, than a village...for now, though, only for now."

"You seem to be trying to reassure yourself of that, old friend." he said teasingly, intending the comment to be taken as a joke.

"Well, I guess you could say that. It's a lot harder to start your own village than I thought. I guess it would've been better for me to try and push to be the Kage of another village already established. But I just couldn't get past the fact that even the Kage's had to answer to some uptight asses in the village's council." spoke the man with a bit of spite.

Arashi agreed with his friend. It was like treading thin ice with the elders of the council. He had to answer for every little thing and they seemed to enjoy making him sweat. But Arashi knew what he would be getting into, so he just shrugged it off as being grumpy when you grew older. As long as the village still prospered then there was nothing to fear, as far as Arashi was concerned.

"So, you started this place, did you?" His friend nodded, taking another sip of his tea. "Tell me, what drove you to such a prospect?"

"After the shinobi war, everything seemed to go to hell. Economy drowned out, nobody wanted to establish ties with us, and soon, our society plummeted. It wasn't until word was heard that the Raikage wanted to make peace between the Kumo and Konoha that things started to turn around and give us hope." Another sip of tea was taken as he looked at the cup with a grave look on his face. "But even that was a sham. The man kidnapped the daughter of the Hyuuga head and was executed by the same man."

Arashi knew this very well. It was the reason for tension between Konoha and other villages. Things were already tense, but after what happened, and Arashi's ultimate decision on the matter, things seemed to change in the workings of the shinobi world.

"You see, the greedy little cochroaches of the village council wanted the secrets of the Hyuuga clan. That was no sudden impulse either. When our village joined with Iwagakure to tag-team Konoha, we wanted the secrets of the byakugan to try and figure out the secret behind the strongest clan in Konoha. The elders were wanting to develop shinobi of the future with this knowledge and create a supreme army of elite shinobi armed with the techniques blessed upon those with the byakugan. But when Konoha's sudden surge turned the tide of the battle completely in it's favor, they had to back out on their plans.

"But something happened with the Raikage. I am not entirely sure but something just changed with him. He became warmer and calmer than he used to be. He even talked about re-establishing ties with Konoha. It would be a lengthy process, of course, but he was sure that Kumo would get back on it's feet, once again, if things settled down between Konoha and Kumo. But then..." and he cut off there, not needing to say anymore. The man seemed so much more sombre than Arashi could recall.

"Vander, I had no choice, you know that." came the reply from Arashi.

"I know, and I don't blame you. I blame the elders who pushed for that scenario. And it's because of the corrupt council that I left." There was a courageous fire in the words of the man, Vander.

"So what prompted you to start this project of yours?" asked Arashi, honestly curious about his friend's plans.

"Well, it was the same reason as for why I left Kumo. I wanted to be able to teach and raise shinobi to learn how to better themselves and become strong and useful and excel in this world." He finished his cup of tea and refilled the cup. Breathing in the steamy vapors through his nostrils, Vander hesitated before he continued. "It just so happens that my first three students have turned out to be special cases."

At the questioning look of Arashi, Vander elaborated. "Well, each one had incredible potential but...unfortunate events had stunted their progress." He didn't want to go into details because the information was their's only to disclose. "I'm excited though, Arashi, for my students. They've progressed so well and now, with the Chuunin Selection Exam, they - as well as our home - will gain the respect of the public and become noticed."

Arashi could see the pride in his friend's eyes and was happy for him. That's when another thought entered his mind. "You know, we're gonna have a large number of shinobi enter this exam as well - including three rookie teams."

Vander's eyes bulged at that knowledge. "Wh-What? You're letting them enter?" When Arashi nodded his head, Vander became very curious. "How good are they. I would suspect they're very good to warrant being allowed to take the exam as rookies but, is there any apprehension?"

"A little from the more experienced shinobi but they have gotten over it. These shinobi are all quite unique themselves. They might give your genins a run for their money in the exam." At least, that was what Arashi hoped for.

A knock on the door shook the men out of their thoughts. "Hokage-sama, their are three ninja who request your guest's company."

"Ah that must be my students." stated Vander. Arashi nodded and said it was okay for them to enter.

After another hour or so of getting acquainted with Vander's students, Arashi took notice of the time and decided it was time to part. The festival's opening ceremonies were scheduled to commence at seven that evening. Vander, before departing with his students, assured Arashi that he would be there that evening and they all would behave accordingly as guests to the village. Now left alone in his office, getting ready to leave, Arashi had only one thing on his mind that could summarize the introduction to his friend's students. _'Those three...something is very different about them.'_

----------------------------------------------------

(Naruto's Room)

Naruto was quite upset. His father knew of his distaste of these social gatherings, but he was forcing it upon him. Damn him.

He knew that it was his father's job as Hokage and leader of the village to be the host of such grand events as this festival but why was he so important to the process to be demanded to appear? Was the whole damn thing going to fall apart if he didn't show? If that were true, then Naruto wouldn't come.

He guessed it was only because he didn't want to be the reason his father would feel embarrassed or ashamed. That was the one thing he didn't want to do was shame his father by failing to appear at the opening ceremony to a tradition that has existed in this country for such a long time. So it was with annoyance that he was in the middle of getting ready for it. If he was going to arrive, then he might as well do it right. That meant no ninja attitude, gear, or clothing.

What did that leave him with then. Well, it was cold outside with the autumn winds so he had to take that precaution. He threw on a pair of dark blue pants that were slightly baggy, so he used some wrapping down at the bottoms of the pants legs to keep from letting air go up the legs. He slipped on some decent looking shoes that hadn't been worn down and decided to search for his upper body wear. He first put on a simple black t-shirt before he threw a long-sleeve dark-blue sweater on over it with dark red swirls on the shoulders of the sweater. He topped it off by grabbing a jacket which was white and had fire designs on the bottom of the jacket and had short sleeves which came to his elbows. Looking at himself in the mirror, he tried to do something with his hair, but decided not to do anything. His hair was the most frustrating thing about his anatomy. It was as if it were stuck there.

He make his way to the common room where, more than likely, his father was at, along with his mother, Jiraiya, and a few of the ANBU. Sure enough they were there, even Kakashi, and his father was probably briefing them on some security measures. And Naruto was thankful for that. If this opening ceremony had anything to do with that damn Ruby then Naruto wanted some damn security set up for that thing. Because he did not want to have to deal with more bandits. If anything happened to that Ruby after the hell he, his teammates, and his friends went through to keep it from being taken away, then Naruto would just give up.

After a few more minutes of giving details to the ANBU members, they disappeared in puffs of smoke (which Naruto found to be quite corny), and that left him, his dad, his mom, and Jiraiya waiting to go. His mother, when she finally noticed him, beamed with pride.

"Oh Naruto, you look so handsome." she said in a high-pitched tone that borderlined school-girl giddiness. Needless to say, if anybody else were present besides those currently here, Naruto would have refused to go at this point. Groaning in annoyance, he mumbled under his something about not treating him like a kid.

"Wow, boy. You look just like your father when he was around your age." spoke Jiraiya. Naruto looked at him a bit surprised, and then became a little bashful when he saw his father nod in agreement.

"You're like a little me." came his father's sarcastic reply, apparently hoping to get Naruto out of his mood. He smirked when he saw it did the trick. A vein bulged on Naruto's head and you could hear him breathe out a frustrated breath.

"That's one thing I'm trying to avoid, 'Father'." came his attempt at a witty response. Meanwhile, Collette was about to break up the argument but not before her husband addressed the pressing need to get to the village square.

"Come on, enough talking. We gotta go." He heard Naruto grumbling under his breath. "Come along, Mini-me" spoke Arashi and laughed as he went and opened up the door for everyone to take their leave.

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It was everything you expected from a ceremony of this magnitude. Wealthy men from various towns in Fire Country had gathered and were discussing political and monetary situations and issues with each other. Sipping on wine or sake, they laughed and glowed with a radiant light that spoke volumes about their character. Normally, Naruto would blasphemize their behavior and their presence. But tonight, they seemed to be different. They were carefree, not putting up a mask, not acting all snobbish and proper, and it was a lot more helpful for Naruto as it helped him accept their presence there.

He looked around and saw people mingling with each other, laughing boisterously, and overall having a good time. The place was set up so that people could talk and enjoy music from various musicians playing various types of musical instruments, and even dance. Some couples were already dancing, swaying to the rhythm of the music. As for food, there were buildings that had been closed down from their normal areas of business and were converted into social areas with many tables that had many different kinds of food set out to feed the hungry. The buffets were not the most popular thing at the moment but it could be assumed that as the night wore on, that they would.

After about an hour of just watching and participating in some of his father's conversations, the real ceremony began. His father went to the top of the Hokage's Tower and got ready to address the public. After starting the speech, throughout certain parts, some people would cheer and clap in approval of some of his statements. The speech seemed to drag on forever but when it finished, everyone cheered at the top of their lungs in pride, moved by the Hokage's words. He then wished them to have fun as the festivities continued and fireworks went off in dazzling style to designate the official beginning of the festival.

Now enjoying his freedom, Naruto moved throughout the large crowd of people and finally saw someone he recognized, Sakura. Not surprisingly, the young girl was close to Sasuke and was trying to talk the boy into dancing with her. However, he continued to brush off her requests. Naruto decided he would help her. So, with a mischievious grin on his face, he set about with his plan.

"Hey Sasuke, Sakura. What's up, you two on a date?" Sakura blushed like he expected and Sasuke fired back with a 'baka' as expected. "What's wrong, Sasuke? Don't like the prospect?"

"Baka, you know what it is." he retorted.

"Doesn't mean you can't have a little bit of fun. Besides, you did say you didn't mind 'friendship' right?" came Naruto's reply.

Sasuke didn't like where this was going. "Well, yeah, but..."

"Then dance with her. Just one, at least." When Sasuke was about to refuse, Naruto decided to remind him of something. "Or are you going to welch on a bet?"

Sasuke swallowed a lump in his throat. _'That bastard, I should've known better than to come here.'_ Muttering promises of pain and misery towards Naruto, he looked at Sakura and nodded his head. She beamed happily but then Sasuke smirked quite evilly. "Sure, I won't welch on our bet, but I hope you won't." When Naruto looked at him with the same look of dread, Sasuke decided to put on the finishing touches to his little revenge. "When you find Hinata, dance with her."

Naruto almost gagged when he heard those words. _'Damnit, and Sakura's here too. She'll never let this down. Damnit, we're just friends, why does everyone want something more to happen?'_ Begrudgingly, he nodded in acceptance of the terms. "Okay." He then thought about something. "Do you know where she is?" That's when he saw Sakura's eyes go wide and she shakily pointed behind him. Naruto turned around and was almost floored by what he saw.

There she was, trying to move through the crowd of people and looking for someone. _'Probably me'_ he thought to himself, but he couldn't manage to utter out any noise to attract her attention and he couldn't will himself to move. When Naruto first met Hinata, he was taken aback by how she seemed to look so pale and yet so radiant. She was cute at times and Naruto wasn't afraid to admit that to himself. At times, she became graceful and pretty, the way she seemed to move like water. But right now, cute, graceful, and pretty just seemed to be insults.

Here was his best friend in the world and she was, without a doubt - even in his mind - beautiful, to every extent of the word. He wanted to stop himself from thinking like that but it was way too hard. Her dark, indigo hair was still the same, the bangs on the side of her face still dangling there, giving off a conflicting contrast to her graceful look that seemed so right. But that was where the similarities ended. Her clothing was what caught him off guard. It wasn't revealing, it wasn't outrageous, it was just right. Even more so in the lights of the night. She wore a deep blue kimono that reminded Naruto of the color of her hair. The material appeared to be silky smooth and there were lavender lines and spirals across the dress. The sleeves were long and ended right at her hands. There seemed to be more material on her than just the indigo kimono, Naruto noted, because peeking out of the ends of the sleeves was something that was colored white but it wasn't the wrappings shinobi commonly use. The dress seemed made especially for her since it didn't seem to be large or droop on her petite form. It actually clung to her body but not so much that it exposed any curves. The bottom of the dress stayed along the same design but it flowed and billowed out at the very bottom, reminding Naruto of a flower. It was complete with formal dark blue slippers. The beauty of the image was not that she seemed to stand out as a gorgeous goddess, but everything seemed to fit into the picture just right.

He heard Sasuke chuckle behind him and that helped him snap out of his daze. He turned his head and glared at Sasuke for a brief moment but Sasuke just shoved it off by waving his hand at Naruto in a gesture for him to go speak with Hinata. He muttered out his own promises of pain and mirth while turning around and willing himself to move towards her.

She was still moving around and looking about when she bumped into somebody, almost fell down while uttering a small 'eep' from surprise, but was stopped by someone holding onto her left hand and arm. "Oh, I-I'm s-s-sorry. I didn't m-mean to bump into you." She continued speaking as she started looking up at the person who stopped her from falling. "Th-Thank you for h-helping m..." but she stopped when she saw Naruto. She instantly began to blush and tried to gather herself while trying to back away. "O-Oh, N-Naruto-kun, I-I am s-sorry for-" but she was cut off by him putting a finger on her lips, which caused her to blush even more.

"You don't have to apologize for every little thing, Hinata-chan." he told her, while smiling in amusement. They just stood there, looking like idiots, not really knowing what to do. That was, however, until Naruto was nudged a little roughly from behind and right into Hinata. He didn't bump into her enough for either of them to lose their balance but it worked like a charm for the fact that it did make both of them put hands on each other to stabilize themselves. Naruto turned to see who had done that and saw Sasuke's retreating form being led by Sakura over to an area where they were probably going to dance. Just as coincidentally as how their hands were placed on each other, was the fact that a new song was starting up. Another coincidence, it was a slow song.

Hinata was more than embarrassed about how close they were to each other and then when she heard the new song being sung, she heard a whisper in the back of her head telling her to ask Naruto to dance. But she shoved that notion out of the way, firmly believing that it wouldn't happen. What surprised her was that Naruto tightened his grip on her left arm, then relaxed it, then moved it down to her side. She turned red again and looked at Naruto in a very confused manner.

"Um...Hinata...would you like...to, well you can say no, it wouldn't matter, but...would you like to...dance?" he managed to ask her, surprised with himself how difficult that was to do. Even weirder was how he was hoping she wouldn't say no.

She couldn't find her voice to save her life at this point, despite how she desperately wanted to say yes. So, with her voice failing her, she nodded her head, turning an even deeper shade of red. Moving closer, she moved her left hand to his shoulder and left it there, moving her right hand to his side as he moved his left hand to gingerly lay on her shoulder. Then the music did the rest.

Moving to the slow rhythm of the music, the two of them tried to not look at each other. But it was only out of shyness, not embarrassment. Naruto, however, couldn't take the silence between them. "This night is nice, a bit surprising for the time of the year. Usually it's really cold in the night times."

She just made a noise of agreement, still not trusting her voice. But that was until Naruto said something that blew her mind away. "You know, Hinata-chan, you look really pretty in that dress." She dropped her head again until she was confident that nobody could see the furious flush on her face. She really wanted nobody to see the blush, yet she didn't want to leave, not for anything in the world. "It fits you too."

"Wh-What do you mean?" she managed to ask.

"Well, the color matches your personality. A deep, watery blue, and it just fits, ya know?" He was starting to turn a little red, especially at how close Hinata seemed to get after he said she looked pretty in the dress.

They didn't even realize that the song ended, but the woman who had sung that song just started singing a new one, also slow. They kept swaying to the music, and continued to relax as well. "I just can't wait for the chuunin exams to begin. We're gonna dominate. Plus I wanna punch that pretty boy's face too. What about you, Hinata?"

She didn't say anything. She just tightened her grip on his shirt. In truth, now that it was so close, she was very apprehensive about the whole thing. And also, Neji's comments had struck a chord in her. She had let his words brew in her mind, and it was as if her closest family member was saying she had no chance. Yes she had tied with Naruto, but they were teammates. What if she didn't have the strength needed? What if she would only embarrass herself and her family? Those were things that had gone through her head this day and she was on the breaking point.

Naruto, who felt the tightened grip on his shirt, became a little bit worried. "Hinata-chan?" When she didn't say anything, he slowly moved his hand from her right shoulder to her right hand and gripped it, interlocking their fingers together. "Hinata, we are friends...you can talk to me if there is something wrong." He then looked around and came to a decision. "Come on, follow me, I'll take ya to a good place to clear your thoughts. Let's go." He then took her by the hand and guided her through the crowd. As he passed by Sasuke, the boy gave him a questioning glance. He told Sasuke that it was private, which, since Sakura was still standing close by, might cause problems later. She gave them a mischievous grin but Naruto sent her a glare, which prompted her to take their departure a bit more seriously than what she obviously thought it was about.

A few minutes later, the two found themselves atop the Hokage monument, a dedication to the great leaders of the proud village. His father's face had been added six or so years ago and he seemed to enjoy coming up here when possible. It just relaxed him. The breeze, the height, the view, the peaceful location, and the quiet atmosphere always settled Naruto's nerves. But the one needing to be settled was not him, it was Hinata who needed consoling. They went to the edge of the mountain and he motioned for her to sit next to him. Before she did sit, though, he thought that her dress might become unnecessarily dirty, so he took off his jacket and laid it on the ground next to him so she could sit on it. She timidly sat down on it and spoke a quiet 'thank you' while they looked down upon the village. The moon light this night was very clear and seemed to illuminate anything that wasn't touched by the lights from the village.

"Now Hinata, tell me what's wrong...please?" he asked with an almost pleading tone. When she didn't speak, he draped an arm over her shoulders and hugged her closer to him. She seemed to tense even more but he felt her slowly relax. "Please Hinata-chan?"

That was the final straw for her resolve. Refusing to tear up or cry while retelling her fears, she did manage to get everything out, even things that she wanted to keep private - like the issue with her byakugan. She told him everything and, after finishing up, took a deep breath and sighed in relief. It was as if she lifted a huge weight off her shoulders. She found it very curious how Naruto's behavior had been everything she needed. A comforting presence to be by during the evening, a caring shoulder to lean on, and a reassuring voice to calm her.

"You know, you shouldn't let things that people say get you down." Hinata was startled by the words. Not because they stung at her in some way, but because they didn't come from Naruto. She noticed that he, too, was looking around for the voice. The answer came from light footsteps from behind them. Turning quickly, she saw that Naruto was trying to see the invader of their privacy and had a particularly vicious look on his face. Was he offended that someone was listening in on them?

What both of them didn't expect to see was the girl from earlier that day. She walked out in a graceful way that rivaled Hinata. Now that there was not so much hostility floating in the air, her appearance could be taken in and it was unbelievable. She looked to be anywhere from 12-14 years old, but something about her gave off an aura of contrast. She held herself high, not walking shy, but in a mature manner. She had on what looked to be dark bodywear from top to bottom. Her top was long-sleeve and had a dark color (not totally black, but not having a definitive color either) and it hugged her frame. She was petite but looked powerful. Her bottom half was covered by what appeared to be pants that also hugged her frame and were of the same color.

"How long have you been there?" demanded Naruto, being very angry that someone was listening in on them.

"The entire time. It isn't my fault you couldn't tell I was here." she responded non-chalantly, taking a seat and dangling her legs out over the monument. Why was there something strange about this girl?

That's what Naruto was asking himself the entire time until the reason for his suspicion of her hit him right in the face. _'Duh, she has that wrapping over her eyes. How could she see to get up here?'_ "Um...I don't mean to be rude and all but...how did you get up here? Aren't you blind?"

The girl looked at him, giggled lightly, and shook her head. "No, I'm not. Don't believe everything you first see or hear because theories based off of assumptions lead to conflict. Just like that one guy I heard the girl talking about. Just because he says you are weak, does that make you weak? It's what you know in yourself that makes you who you are. I never would have taken up this profession if I didn't think I could overcome my weaknesses and become strong." She then paused and seemed to gaze over the town, even though it appeared that she couldn't see. Before they could respond to her words, she continued speaking. "I'm not claiming that I'm wiser than some adult, but you apparently made this decision for yourself. Otherwise, you wouldn't have made it. But there is something about your glow that seems to radiate that you are in turmoil. If you try your hardest, then that makes this venture all worth it. Don't you agree?"

Hinata processed the girl's words and was surprised that she agreed with her. There was just something about those words that made her feel so much better. She smiled genuinely for the first time that night. "Y-Yes, I suppose you are right. This was the decision I made, I will now see it through...to the end. Th-Thank you for your words, miss-"

"No miss or anything like that. We're fellow peers, remember?" she said with a bit of amusement. "Just call me Elru, Hinata. Anyways, I gotta leave; otherwise, my sensei will kill me for being out late."

"O-Okay, Elru-chan. I hope you do well in the exam."

"You two do the same, and maybe I'll see you around." she said as she got up and left. Again, the weirdness in her statement, but it was shrugged off.

As both Hinata and Naruto left, they felt a great deal easier in dealing with the new nins from the new village. The girl apparently seemed more subdued and alot more appealing and approachable than the arrogant guy, as was the boy, Kid. As they made their way to the area where the festivities were still going on, they seemed to both share the same feeling of easiness. Though conflict lay on the horizon, they both knew that together, with Sasuke, they would have the strength needed to stay strong. The coming weeks would be rough, but they would become stronger and then, it would be their time to shine.

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Finally the chapter is concluded. This one was the hardest to churn out. I thought I would have an easier time but it just proved to be too difficult. Writer's block, lack of inspiration, call it whatever you want, but whatever it is, it sucks totally when you want to write but you can't. So please don't become impatient. The chapter was in the process, it just took a bit longer than I had originally thought.

Now onto some points that will surely be brought up. As for the issue with Kakashi's team and what they discovered, it will be covered later, but remember, for it will be important. The little sparring match between Naruto and Sasuke. That was not for real. They were holding back, like any teammates would do against each other. Yes they were using jutsus but not really strong ones. Even Sasuke's Grand Fireball technique was lacking in true destructive power. And no, just because Naruto defeated him doesn't automatically make Naruto stronger than him. If you haven't understood the image I've been trying to paint here, none of them are really heads and shoulders above each other. They each have unique tendencies that make them better in a particular area. Sasuke is faster, Naruto has more power, and Hinata is more fluid and aware.

And now we get to the point where you have to ask yourselves. What is in store for the future. Well, next chapter...it begins. That's right, 'IT' begins. The Chuunin Selection Exam begins in all it's glory. But what is the deal with the genin from the new 'school?' What makes them so unique that it made even the Yondaime uneasy? Next chapter: The Gathering: The Chuunin Exams begin!


	14. Chapter 14

Hello and welcome back. It's finally time for the event that I have been looking forward to getting to. The Chuunin Exam is going to begin in this chapter. Now, I have been told by quite a few people that they have enjoyed the differences I have introduced into this story and so, in an attempt to keep that going, I also changed up, just a bit, how the exam shapes up and what occurs. Now, I have been wondering whether or not this would go well or wouldn't (I've been sitting on this chapter for the past couple of days) so I am kinda going to need your input on this chapter. Hopefully you will enjoy it, because I just couldn't get this idea out of my head. So for those of you who were looking forward to a difference in the Chuunin Exam, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 14 - The Gathering: The Chuunin Exam begins!

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In the tower of the Hokage, Arashi, as well as some assistants, were gathering folders filled to the brim with information on the participants in the exam that would be starting today. It was a monumentous occasion too. This year, over 50 genin teams were participating. It would be a long and taxing procedure but one that needed to be done.

One thing that Arashi prided himself in was that he was unpredictable, and that was a trait that was not well-known. People thought of him as a leader, a serious man, a strong individual, etc., etc. But what they didn't know was that he was unpredictable and surprised the people around him often. But he didn't care, not a bit. He loved the look of surprise, and he was going to get a lot of it today.

While Sarutobi had established an accepted practice of testing smarts, tracking, and physical ability, Arashi believed in a different approach. If a ninja could not adapt to a situation and perform the responsibilities required of them in a time of crisis, then they didn't belong in the next level and possibly killing people because they made a mistake.

Finishing up with the final gathering of folders, Arashi gave a quick glance at Kakashi, and they both gave a knowing nod to each other before leaving the office and Arashi locking the door behind him.

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Naruto was just finishing up his final preparations. He had on his regular black t-shirt with his dark orange windbreaker pants and he had just finished putting on the dark orange windbreaker jacket on over the shirt. Leaving his hair alone, he adjusted his kunai and shuriken holsters and looked at himself in the mirror.

He had long since discarded his bracer, the fracture in his arm being diagnosed as healed completely, and without it, he had felt whole again. It helped him out, psychologically, to see that Hinata was diagnosed the same way shortly after him. He, Hinata, and Sasuke were back and things were moving along very, very well.

Yamato had suggested to them as the exam approached that it would probably be best if they learned how to work together a lot better. It wasn't that he doubted them, he always said, but that it wouldn't hurt to try and make their connection and teamwork a lot more polished. Their days began including one to two hours of strategizing for certain situations, as well as studying some material that their sensei had gotten for them. He also suggested that it wouldn't hurt for them to try to find a way to communicate better without being noticed. Sasuke suggested studying morse code, and so they did. Soon, Team Seven was working like a well-oiled machine, and they were in rare form.

It was a few days before now that Naruto decided to go to the library and check out something. That something was the history of the chuunin exam and what might be expected. He found a great volume of information, from what they want to see out of a chuunin-hopeful, all the way to what to expect. Paying more attention to the parts that included Konoha's Chuunin Exam's history, he found that in the days of the Third Hokage, the exam consisted of three parts. A written test, a survival and investigatory test, and a skills test. The 'Skills' test was actually a series of one-on-one fights between the remaining participants until their was only one.

But no other details were given and there were no records of what had occured in the Chuunin Exam's history in Konoha while under the Yondaime's rule. _'Damnit, father, you just had to go ahead and crush my hopes, didn't you'_ Naruto had said to himself in mock annoyance. Truthfully, Naruto wouldn't have it any other way. While being prepared would enhance his team's chances of soaring through the exam, he would rather be surprised.

So now, on the day of the exam, Naruto was focusing on the task at hand and preparing himself, mentally, for what might come. Seeing that he had a few minutes to spare, he went to the kitchen and fixed himself a cup of instant ramen to eat, which he did quite quickly, and grabbed his bag before he left out the front door.

He made his way to Training Area 13, which was their training grounds and the designated meeting spot, to wait for his teammates. As he was arriving at the meeting spot, he was not surprised to see Hinata there already. She tended to always be on time. Naruto didn't know whether to associate that tendency with her lack of desire to go overboard in making herself 'presentable' in other teenage girls' terms, or that it was just the way she was. It could be a combination of both. She wore the same thing she always did: cream-colored, bulky jacket with baggy dark pants and her sandals.

Now what did surprise him was that Hinata was not alone. Uchiha Sasuke, who seldomly arrives before he did, was already present in his dark blue shirt and white khaki shorts. Now Sasuke wasn't a tardy person, but it was just that Naruto always seemed to be there before Sasuke was. Hearing horror stories from his father about the tardiness of one of his students, Kakashi, gave Naruto a more open mind on tardiness. But, as stated before, Sasuke wasn't a perpetually late everyday. He was just coincidentally the last person to arrive.

Once he was noticed by his two team mates, they exchanged 'good mornings' and other small talk, very hesitant to mention their appointment for the day. But it couldn't be avoided and when it was brought up, it sent home the truth of the day.

"We might want to make our way to the meeting area. It's almost that time." spoke the calm Uchiha. Hinata and Naruto mumbled in agreement and then made their way. The walk there was quiet but necessary. Each one needed to sort out the thoughts racing through their mind, and try to relax the anxiety racing through their nerves.

Once they reached the building, they stepped inside, and followed the posted signs to the first area. The first area ended up being a few people with a lot of papers in front of them and a line of people before them. As each person went up to the table the people with the papers were sitting at, these people sorted through the many stacks and marked off names of individuals and handed out a sheet of paper to them.

Once their team made it's way to the front, they were asked to provide the information the people, who became quickly known as proctors, asked for, including cell name, personal identity, proof of identification, and their permit. Once Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Hinata of Cell Seven of Konohagakure was recorded, as well as their permit - signed and sealed by the Hokage, they were told to follow the signs to the 'Gathering Area' to await their number to be called.

Following the signs, they made their way to area...and were stunned by the number of people in there.

"What the hell?" asked Naruto, in sheer disbelief at the number of people there. "This is insane!" That was when he looked down at his number and saw 103, and then he saw that Sasuke and Hinata had 104 and 105 respectively. Doing the math as quickly as he could, he realized they were the 35th registered team at the exam. "Why does there have to be so many people taking this exam?"

"Because we all feel like it, so shut up brat" came the response from a teenage boy dressed entirely in black with a large, wrapped package on his back. "Geez, they let rookies take it too. Man, this is lame." grumbled the same boy.

"Don't worry about it Kankuro, these brats will just be fodder. They'll be filtered out before the second leg even happens." This came from a teenage girl with wild, long blonde hair and carrying a large, folded fan.

"Understand this, if you underestimate us, you'll be the one becoming fodder, got that?" came Naruto's awaited response. It lived up to what those who knew him, came to expect. One such person was Nara Shikamaru.

"Man, this early and you are already making trouble, damn. Can't keep your mouth closed huh?" came his bored statement. "Talk any louder and you'll make more than them your enemies."

Naruto then looked at all the people who were in the room and saw a lot of oddball-looking characters, but they all seemed to mean business. Taking them lightly would prove to be unbeneficial to one's health. Some, who apparently overheard his little declaration, were either glaring at him, sneering at him, chuckling to themselves, or mumbling to their teammates. To be blunt, this made him more upset. These people all seemed to think they were so much better than him and his team, just because they (Team Seven) were considered rookies.

"Listen brat, just shut up. Being quiet will make your presence here more acceptable." came the venemous voice from Kankuro.

"Really, I don't find much wrong with his energy." This made Naruto, Hinata, Sasuke, Kankuro, Shikamaru, and the blonde-haired girl to look in the voice's direction to see none other than Kidremé. "In fact, I think it's refreshing in a room full of tight-asses." He said this while sending a glare at Kankuro specifically. Naruto would've laughed if he still wasn't uncomfortable around the boy. But he decided to accept him since his teammate, Elru, seemed okay.

Kankuro returned the glare but that was until a familiar shiver went through his spine as he felt himself being glared at by the one person that honestly scared him to no end. His little brother, Gaara.

"Kankuro, stop being troublesome. Choosing to continue is only going to provoke confrontation at this point and our sensei would be highly disappointed with that. Besides, they are..." and he trailed off as he gazed at them all, including Ino and Chouji, who had joined Shikamaru with team seven, "insignificant." Naruto would've exploded right there if it weren't for someone else interfering right then.

"Labeling people so quickly will lead to weakness. Never judge a book by it's cover, for the inside might hold something greater" came the calm, cool voice of Elru, Kid's teammate. She stepped inbetween both groups, acting like a barrier. She was met with a sneer from Kankuro, a curious/confused gaze from the blonde, and an impassive stare from the red-headed boy. She looked the same she did that day when Naruto and his friends first met her, including the wrapping over the eyes. Naruto guessed it was this that had the three on the other side of her incredulous.

Gaara closed his eyes, as if thinking of something, before opening them back, the green in them seemingly holding infinite ill-will. The dark bags underneath his eyes helped with the image. He was more unnerving than the group from Shadow. He turned back to his teammates, but turned back around, looking at all gathered across from him. "You are all insignificant. Do not get in my way." And with that, he turned back around and walked away, followed by his teammates.

After settling back into a calm, everyone got through with the quick formalities and awaited instruction on what would occur. Eventually, the room was silenced as six intimidating figures stepped through, who were then joined by the Hokage. Everyone seemed to treat him with the most respect since as soon as he entered the room, it became deathly quiet. The Yondaime looked around the room, taking into account how many there were and getting himself ready for a long day.

"Welcome, everyone, to the Chuunin Selection Exam. Since you have all been waiting for a while, I will cut straight to the chase. The number you were given before you came to this room, that is your appointment number. We will start by calling the number on that sheet of paper and will go along with that process until everyone in this room has been with us for an interview." Some light whispering could be heard at the word 'interview.' "Yes, I understand that that is a little unorthodox, but so is the life you lead. If you cannot adjust to odd circumstances then you do not belong at the next level. Once inside, you will be interviewed under scrutiny of these people with me. Allow me to introduce them to you."

He then started from the farthest person on his left and made his to the farthest person on his right. "They are Mitarashi Anko, Hyuuga Hizashi, Hatake Kakashi, Morino Ibiki, Yuuhi Kurenai, and Uchiha Itachi. No favoritism shall be shown whatsoever, so you can save the complaints. You will be graded for your performance during the interview. Whether or not you and your team will move on to the next leg of the exam will depend on your final grade. We will all vote on whether you have the qualities to move on."

Now everyone started to chatter more audibly. This, apparently, got on the nerves of the woman known as Anko, as she snapped at everyone. "Listen up, everyone. This won't be some walk in the park. Each one of us passes a vote on each person in the team. If the team gets under 15, you fail. Got it? Good. Now we'll begin. Number One, let's go." And so the process began. This would not be a walk in the park, as they said, for if the thought of not impressing them wasn't enough, then the wait time was a killer.

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(A/N: From this point, I'm going to have the P.O.V. be from inside the room and I will choose random times for someone to be noticed. Not everyone that is known will be focused on but I will choose some.)

Arashi was quite pleased with the way everything seemed to be turning out so far. From once they commenced the first exam, he had seen a total of eleven teams worth of genin enter, but only two had passed. The reason for the difficulty when all that was being conducted was an interview was simple. The chair that the genin were supposed to sit in as they were questioned was the focal point of a genjutsu array. The design was influenced by some of the better genjutsu experts around.

The way the array worked was that as soon as the genin took the seat, they would feel a heaviness around them, as if a weight was being placed on their minds. Then Arashi would open with the question: "Why did you want to be a ninja?" After a response, he would then ask: "Why do you feel qualified to be a chuunin?" Depending on their response, would depend on the questions to follow. As the questions were asked, images were intended to be sent to the mind that helped the genin gain a visual/mental grasp of situations that might occur once they are a chuunin out in the field. Images of struggle, strife, death, danger, violence, stress, and desperation would attack and haunt the already burdened mind and try to rip through the resolve of the genin. But the genjutsu was chuunin level. If the genin could not break through a chuunin level genjutsu or they could not hold their will against a chuunin level technique, then they did not need to be out there risking lives.

It wasn't until the thirteenth team was approached that things got interesting. For the first person from this set of three that was called in was Hyuuga Neji. _'Alright, Hizashi, let's see how impartial you can be.'_ "Hello, Hyuuga Neji. If you would, please take the seat before you." Arashi watched as he did so and seemed to be unphased. "Well let's begin. Neji, why did you want to become a ninja?"

He saw Neji begin to look a little uncomfortable but he calmed back down shortly afterwards. "I became a ninja..." He then looked at his father carefully before he continued. "I became a ninja to try and escape the home whenever the earliest chance was provided. I also sought to become stronger and a way to use my skills outside the family for my own benefit." Arashi took careful note of how Hizashi flinched at the words of his son.

"Hmm...very well. Then would you mind telling me why you are taking this exam at this time?" Once again, he saw Neji's face flinch suddenly, but as before, it did not last very long.

"I, as did my team, felt that it was time."

Next it was time for someone else to speak up and ask questions, but what was surprising was that Hizashi opted to ask the next question. "Tell us, why is it that you want to be chuunin? What is your purpose behind that decision?"

Neji closed his eyes in concentration, as he seemed to be searching for the words. Upon opening his eyes, there was a fierce look of determination in them. "I wish to become chuunin...so that I may step out of the shadows of my family. Becoming chuunin means taking on a more dedicated role and you are treated with more respect. My purpose is simple: become chuunin, then ascend to the next level as quickly as possible."

"So you are a ninja for the rank?" Again, the question was asked by Hizashi, who seemed to be pressing his son for a desired response.

"No, I am a ninja because it was my decision. When you are caged and are given the chance to escape by some means, do you not take the opportunity? That is why I am a ninja, to be free...and to prove, that just because I am a member of the Cadet Branch of the Hyuuga, that I, too, can be strong. I will ascend in power and become the strongest Hyuuga in our clan." Though the reasoning was on a more personal level, it couldn't be denied that he spoke with much more passion than you were accustomed to when around the young boy. There was defiance in his voice, and a fire that could not be extinguished. It was clear and very apparent. No one would stand in his way.

"Very well, Hyuuga Neji, you may exit. Please call in your teammate, Rock Lee." Neji got up and exited out the door, giving Arashi and the others the chance to quickly pass their judgment. By the time Lee and Tenten were finished, the grading began. Tenten: 6-1, Rock Lee: 6-1, and Hyuuga Neji: 6-1. They passed.

Arashi found it quite amusing how different each team seemed to be from one another. And the difference between those who would pass and those who didn't have what it took was very clear. Each team's interview lasted anywhere from 6-12 minutes, and a large number of teams were dropping like flies. A team that had proven to be quite curious was the team from Sunagakure. The red-headed boy, Gaara, was especially different. He never seemed to be phased by the genjutsu, not even once. There was only a cold, calculating visage the entire interview and his conviction was brutally honest. His reason for being a ninja: there was nothing else he could possibly be. His reason for taking the exam to become chuunin: there was nothing else for him to gain remaining a genin. That team passed with an amazing score. Kankuro: 6-1, Temari: 7-0, Gaara: 7-0. It was the highest so far and there had already been over twenty teams.

Kurenai's team passed with flying colors. Haruno Sakura's ability to notice genjutsu was put to the test and won out. Sakura: 7-0, Shino: 7-0, Kiba: 4-3. Asuma's team, however, struggled slightly. Skikamaru: 5-2, Ino: 5-2, Chouji: 5-2. It was a bit disturbing that there were quite a few teams from Konoha passing but with barely passable marks. Something needed to be done to improve the performance from the genin of Konoha and Arashi would be sure to implement a harder discipline into the training of genin after this was all over.

One of the more interesting teams ended up being his friend's team. Kidremé, Ezekiel, and Elru all had a story behind them, one that would move even the coldest of hearts. Arashi's heart went out to them, and he was happy that they finally had someone who would take care of them like he knew his friend would. Elru's interview was very amusing, just because of the fact that when Anko asked the blunt question of if the girl was blind, she desribed in surprising detail what they were all wearing, even the color, as well as the color of the eyes and the color of the hair. "Don't judge a book by it's cover so quickly" she had said afterwards. "Just because my eyes are covered does not mean that I do not see." It was without any hesitation that they gave her the score, 7-0.

Kidremé, after explaining his situation, it was a foregone conclusion what would happen with him. He would pass, it would just depend what the score was. The reason the group was so quick to pass him was for the fact that he professed what his fighting style consisted of and it literally blew away what was the norm for any shinobi. While a ninja's career was dependent on physical ability, he did not possess much of a physique. The boy was diagnosed with a condition that should have kept him out of a career as a shinobi, it in fact only pushed him harder. And his fighting style, was just remarkable. It was without regret that they gave him his score: 7-0.

Next came Ezekiel, who held himself in such an air that you would not expect from one so young. He was only 14 and yet he seemed to radiate an aura that would make anyone proud. It was a confidence that couldn't be engraved into someone unless they believed in themselves completely. And as Arashi expected from the confidence of the boy, the genjutsu didn't seem to affect him at all. As Ezekiel revealed the reason he wanted to be a ninja, it became painfully aware to Arashi that these three were not just picked randomly by his friend, it was as if they were studied and chosen. All three had talent, but not the means to bring it out and Vander was there to offer that driving force that would assist them to excel. And just like with Kidremé, all seven were awed by the description of Ezekiel's fighting style. All three genin from this new school were outrageously unique but ever so complimentary. Where you might find a weakness in one, the other two covered that weakness. By the end of Ezekiel's interview, Arashi had the first for that day: 7-0, the first perfect score for a team.

A few teams later, it was time for Number 103. When the person was called for, in came Uzumaki Naruto. Arashi grinned a little as he felt the gazes of the other six interrogators on him. "Welcome, Naruto, would you have a seat right there, please?" He motioned to the chair and Naruto firmly sat in it. Arashi noted the extremely determined look on his son's face and knew that this was probably futile. But it had to be done. "Very well, now let us begin. Tell us, Naruto, why did you want to be a ninja?"

He watched as Naruto thought to himself, his face scrunching up from his thought process. "Well, I guess it would have to be the example set forth by you, the Yondaime Hokage of Konoha." Everyone raised their eyebrows at him for that statement. "The Hokage looks out for his people like he would his own family. I wanted to do the same thing. Those I hold precious, I will do anything for. I want to become strong and ascend the ranks - possibly to your level, Hokage-sama."

While most parents would find it insulting to be regarded in such a way by their own son, it actually helped to show a few things. One, that Naruto wasn't looking for special treatment. Referring to Arashi as the Yondaime Hokage was sending the message that Naruto saw Arashi as the Hokage, not his father, on this day. Two, it would help that since there were witnesses to this treatment, that no one would be able to argue the authenticity of the judgment of Arashi in regards to his son's score. Naruto was no longer his son at this moment, but a chuunin-hopeful, and Naruto was helping him realize that. _'Naruto, you are quite clever. Even now, you think past the predicament you are in to the cause-and-effect possibilities in the wake. Truly, you have progressed far beyond my previous expectations.'_

"Very well then. So, would you tell us why you want to be a chuunin?" Everyone assumed thoughtful poses, ready for his answer.

"It's the next step in my goal. To be a leader, you have to take steps right? Well, this is my next step." Arashi had accepted the answer, and as he looked around, he saw that everyone else had too.

"Very well, then one last question. Tell us why you feel you are capable of being a chuunin." He watched as Naruto started to think of something and then, it was like a bulb went off in his mind. He assumed a smile that spoke incredible levels of mischief in the works.

"Well, the old saying is 'Actions speak louder than words' right?" If Arashi knew better then the smirk he saw on Naruto's face was spelling trouble. Very quickly he saw his son perform six handseals in rapid fire succession which led to the new predicament. They all watched as Naruto finished the handseals with his hands clasped together but with the index fingers of both hands pointing. He brought the fingers up to his throat and inhaled a deep breath. In one moment there was silence, in the next was a dreadful wail that could only be described as apocalyptic.

Arashi barely noticed before he had to close his eyes for fear they would surge out of their sockets that the noise was coming from Naruto. A few moments later, Naruto stopped, much to the pleasure of everyone else.

"Oh dear god, that hurts so bad" commented Kurenai, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Damn kid, that hurt the back of my brain" came Anko's response, as she rubbed her temples.

"I'm still seeing stars" commented Arashi, rubbing his eyes. "What the hell was that, Naruto."

"That was a technique I learned recently. Of course, I had to test it in sound-proof areas that way I wouldn't disturb anybody else, but I find it quite useful."

"How could such a loud attack be beneficial when stealth is everything, huh kid?" questioned Ibiki.

"If I'm correct then Uzumaki Naruto knows the Kage Bunshin, right?" asked Itachi. When Naruto nodded, Itachi's assumptions appeared to be accurate. But, Kakashi beat him to the explanation.

"Then Naruto could simply make one clone and instruct it to go off to an area away from his team. Then, it could use the technique, alerting any potential enemies to the bunshin's location, while Naruto and his teammates could make a hasty exit." Everyone seemed to register then the usefulness of the technique. And Arashi recognized Naruto's intentions. It was a smack in his face, point blank range too. He had already mastered a chuunin level technique, and probably a number of others. And the fact that Naruto didn't hurry to explain the purpose for the technique was also a display of his prowess. _'Naruto didn't explain the technique, because he felt he didn't need to. Why is it, Naruto, that you keep surprising me?'_

"Hmm, very well then Naruto. You may leave. Oh and tell Uchiha Sasuke to enter please?" When Naruto nodded and left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief before consulting each other on how they should grade him. That was when Sasuke entered.

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(A/N: To all Sasuke fans, I did not just skip over him. I will recount the time he spent in there when reflected back upon. But for now, the P.O.V. will swing to outside the room)

Naruto, after telling Sasuke to go in, sat down and sighed in relief. The way they all looked at him, it sorta turned his stomach. It was such a pleasure to change their tunes on how they viewed him. He put as much chakra as he could in the short amount of time he gave himself to pull off the technique to make it most memorable to them. Their ears, Naruto guessed, would still be ringing by morning tomorrow.

"So, Mr. Uzumaki, how did you fare?" came the question from Kidremé.

"I think I did okay but I'm not sure. Whatever happened in there, it didn't feel real. It all felt...weird...like a dream."

"Yeah I know what you are talking about." he replied. "So, after Uchiha who just went in, will you guys be done?"

"No, Hinata-chan still has to go in." He then looked at her but saw that she was fidgeting rather badly. "Hinata" he called to her, gaining her attention, "you're going to do alright, alright?"

A moment later, Sasuke came out with that indifferent look on his face but his eyes spoke for him. He seemed to be rattled. And though Naruto tried not to show it in the room with his father and those proctors, he was rattled too. Whatever caused that feeling of uneasiness once you sat down, it was strong and took a little while to get over it. And the things he saw weren't too pleasant. But he forced himself to push through. He could only hope that he did well and that Sasuke did well. Now it was Hinata's turn, and Naruto was, for a lack of a better term, nervous. The cause for his nervousness, many things, but one was that he hoped she could overcome the feeling that he knew she would feel.

"Hinata, you're next." Sasuke then looked at Naruto quickly and then back to her. "Good luck." And for a rare moment, Sasuke smiled at her.

Naruto, naturally, followed suit, though it seemed weird to him that Sasuke had, once again, beaten him to something today. "Yeah, Hinata-chan. Good luck, but I'm confident you won't need it. Just remember," he said to her, holding onto her shoulder for emphasis as she gazed into his eyes, "it's what you feel, not what somebody else feels, that makes you who you are. You are strong, if you believe you are strong. Now go in there and kick some ass, girl." He then patted her roughly, but comfortingly, on the back and in the direction of the door.

She turned back to them before she hesitantly pulled the door open, smiled one last time, and walked in, closing the door behind them.

"Do you think she will be okay, Naruto?" asked Sasuke.

"I don't think we have anything to worry. At this point, she knows that she can't afford to not be strong. She'll be fine." came the reply from Naruto, as he grinned in confidence.

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(Back inside the room)

Hinata looked at the seven seated behind the table and smiled at Hizashi, Arashi, and Kurenai. When she was motioned to take the seat before them, she did so, but suddenly felt a strange feeling encompass her. It was like the air became colder and heavier, and her mind felt burdened, and this was definitely not something she was expecting.

"Welcome, Hyuuga Hinata. Let's begin with some quest-" but Arashi was cut off by the purple-haired kunoichi, Anko.

"Wait a minute, Hyuuga Hinata?" she asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity. When Hinata nodded her head, Anko started giggling to herself. "Oh this is rich. So this is the second Hyuuga chuunin-hopeful, but you are from the main branch, and the head of the clan's elder child, isn't that right?" Once again, Hinata could only nod, not trusting her voice. "What the hell are you doing being a ninja, huh? Shouldn't you be with your dad learning how to run the clan or something?"

"W-W-Well, father said that becoming a sh-shinobi of the v-village would help me." She mentally cursed that her stutter was back in full force, but she didn't seem able to stop herself. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable.

"Do you even know what the risks are of being a kunoichi? The things you might have to do? The things that might be done to you? You're not a male, so most sick enemies won't just kill you, they'll hurt you and have 'fun' before they finish you off. Are you even sure you know what you got yourself into, kid?"

At this, Hinata's mind was assaulted by grotesque images of things that she knew would haunt and plague her mind. Becoming increasingly uncomfortable, she was now feeling something new in the face of these mental images. Terror.

Of course, Arashi thought it was a bit harsh what Anko was doing to her, but they hadn't treated any of the other kunoichi differently. They saw the same things and were asked the same questions. But Hinata, he felt, was more innocent than they were, and these questions and images might break her. Having been around the girl enough since she grew up with his son, Arashi knew how fragile the girl's frame of mind was, and this could totally shatter her resolve to be a ninja of the Leaf.

"Answer me, girl. Do you even know what you risk by being a kunoichi of this village and what risks you run? Your teammates won't always be there to bail you out if something rough comes along and you might be vulnerable. This career is a miserable experience and I'm pretty confident that you don't have the will to take it." Anko didn't like brutally assaulting the psyche of someone the way she was, but Hinata was like a beacon in the night, glaring 'Lack of Confidence Standing Here!'

And as Hinata was continuously assaulted by these images, the words from Elru and Naruto rang through her mind. _'It's what you know in yourself that makes you who you are.'_ _'You are strong, if you believe you are strong.'_ It was with those words ringing through her mind that she forced out the images and saw her family, her team, and then herself in a mirror. _'Thank you for your support, your strength.'_ she thought to herself.

It was with great surprise to all present that her eyes suddenly held no more fear or doubt. Instead, there was a strong, fierce, determined look in her eyes. "Perhaps you are right, Anko-san. Maybe I didn't quite know what might await me in this life I have chosen. But it was my decision to make. And as...as the heir to the Hyuuga clan, I will remain focused on my goals and that is to be a strong, capable leader for my people, whenever I might receive the opportunity."

"So why do you want to be a chuunin then?" asked Anko.

"With the rank of chuunin...comes new responsibility. If I cannot handle the responsibility of a chuunin in our village then I cannot handle the responsibility of leading my family."

"So you wish to test yourself with the chuunin rank, though you are not certain you can handle the responsibility?" That question was asked, surprisingly, by Hizashi. He was one of the elected proctors for this portion because of his unique ability to read a person's actions and judge accordingly. So now that he had decided to ask a question, it made them wonder if he was doing it only because it was Hinata.

"No. I would never use a rank to try and test myself. If I didn't feel I was ready, then I wouldn't be here." The response was blunt but precise. And she had definitely impressed them all. This newfound determination, wherever it came from, was certainly a powerful motivator and there was no way they were going to get any negative reactions out of her.

"Very well, you may leave." As Hinata left, Anko got up and escorted her out of the room but as soon as they were out of earshot of the others, Anko quickly apologized and called the next number and then went back inside to consult with the others on the score of Team Seven. Right as the next person entered, the votes had been tallied. Naruto: 7-0, Sasuke: 6-1, and Hinata 5-2. They had passed.

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Naruto looked up when he heard Anko's voice call for number 106 and so he looked for Hinata. That's when he heard a very audible sigh, as well as a thump and saw the girl now seated next to him against the wall. "Um...well, how'd you do?"

"Please don't ask, Naruto." was the quick, quiet reply. He assumed that whatever happened in there might have been pretty rough so he just dropped it.

As the hours passed, the numbers of individuals continued to be called until suddenly, there were no more numbers left to call. That being done, the door to that room opened and the seven people walked out. No longer was the tough and intimidating visage there and in it's place was a calm and, even happy, demeanor. Quickly, four of the people - Kakashi, Anko, Kurenai, and Hizashi - handed out envelopes to each team. Inside these envelopes was the score of the team, and therefore, the knowledge of whether or not they passed or failed. Of the 59 teams that participated in the first part of the exam, that number had been cut down to 24.

A couple of teams from Kiri had passed, as had a few from Iwa and Kumo, a couple from Kusa and Ame, a surprising group from a new village called Oto, a few from Taki, the one group from Suna, the new group from Vander's new school, and a number of teams from Konoha. As those who didn't pass left the room as requested, the seven proctors looked around at the remaining teams and started wondering how these teams would fare against the second part of the exam, the survival mission.

"Congratulations to all those who passed. You have proven yourselves worthy of the next portion, but unfortunately, it will not be any easier. In fact, it will be much harder and more difficult. But as it is late, now, we request that you all leave and return to this building tomorrow morning, 9 am sharp. Do not be late. Dismissed." And then all seven disappeared in puffs of smoke.

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In the darkest time of the evening, a shadowy figure snuck through the trees on the outskirts of Konoha. This person was searching for something...or someone. After a few more moments, it stopped on a tree branch, leaned against the tree, and waited for something. That something came in the form of footsteps.

"Well, well. It seems that maybe we can trust you" said the person on the tree, peering through the night at the figure who was at the designated meeting point. "You can understand why we were...apprehensive...about your cooperation."

"I assure you, I mean no ill will to you and your master." This person bowed his head respectfully.

"Hmmm...that remains to be proven. Do you have the information we require?" Through the little moonlight offered on this evening, one could barely make out the flicker of light reflecting off a metallic device on this person's face.

"Hai, I have it. You underestimate my resources if you thought I could not get such paltry gossip. I question the value in this information even." It was when the person in the trees moved to be in clear view of this person that he realized he might have crossed the line.

"Do not forget your place. You may be considered important in your village, but out here, you are but an afterthought." This person then moved their hand up to their face and readjusted their glasses, giving the other person a look that promised untold unpleasantries if the behavior continued.

"I apologize for my 'insubordinance.' I was out of line" the other person said through gritted teeth. Apparently, this person disliked having to take orders. "The information requested is right here" he said, pulling his hand out from underneath his hooded cloak. In his hand was a folded sheet of paper. The one wearing the glasses leapt down and took the paper, unfolding it and scanning over it's contents.

"Well, '_that's_' where, hmm? My master has told me many tales of that place." The glasses-wearing man chuckled in arrogant amusement. "So this is the location of the second portion of that exam, correct?"

"My sources never lie. So tell me, why was this important for you?"

"A test."

"A test?"

"Yes, a test. A test will be conducted." The one with glasses was becoming annoyed by the questions of this client. Why was it that his master had to choose the most annoying and irritating of people to side with?

"And what is this test's purpose?"

"To identify the flaws and successes of an experiment. Now, I must make my way back to my master. He will become very sore with me if I am any later, and it is not helping that you keep asking these meaningless questions. Good evening. Sayonara." And with that, the man wearing the glasses disappeared. The man who was left standing there in his wake, alone, readjusted his cloak and made his way back into the village to get some sleep.

----------------------------

The next morning brought a feeling of ill omen. The dark clouds hanging in the sky seemed to represent something but the meaning was beyond most people's grasps. These people were all gathering at the testing location from the previous day, eager and anxious and nervous.

Again, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke had met at their training area to go to the testing location together, and as they waited for instructions from the next proctor, they felt the stares and glares of other shinobi on them. Quite frankly, in Naruto's opinion, it was annoying that they were being viewed differently. What had he done? What had they done? Nothing, that's what. They did what they came to do. They came into the exam's first portion and passed.

"Tch, looks like we got a homer here." When Naruto looked in the direction of the voice, he was met with an odd image. The person who belonged to the voice was clothed in bluish-gray camouflage pants and shirt, with a large fur pelt (or something along those lines) on his body, and his entire face, save for one eye, was bandaged completely.

"What was that," asked Naruto.

"I said, it looks like we have a homer. You guys. If we weren't in Konoha, you rookies wouldn't have passed. They just couldn't afford to not pass a large number of Konoha nins." Though you could only see his one eye, you were almost certain that he was smirking in sadistic pleasure, having fun at putting down somebody else. This person was then accompanied by a boy with the same clothing, but shorter sleeves on his shirt, and had big, long hair, and a girl with long black hair and wearing the same clothing as well.

One could almost feel the impending explosion from Naruto and the mummy, until the main doors burst open to reveal the purple-haired jounin from yesterday, Anko. "Alright, boys and girls, LISTEN UP!!! From this point on, you now belong to me. If you don't like it? Then leave. Come on, you brats. Let's go." Her tone held no room for argument and every single ninja present could tell that. So they followed, without a second thought.

It wasn't until they were out of the building and walking through pathways of trees and bushes that Temari from Suna spoke to Anko. "Hey there, where are we going?"

Anko turned her head to look at Temari while she kept on walking to the destination. She then closed her eyes as she smiled sweetly, a genuine smile, as if assuring them everything was going to be okay. That smile is what set everyone there at ease.

"Why, we're going to Training Area 44. The Forest Of Death."

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And voila. The first portion is done. I'm sorry if you were expecting more out of me but the first portion was a test of psyche. If you want a mental image of what occurred in that room, then for all Full-Metal Alchemist fans out there, refer to the episode of the State Alchemist exams. As for the mental images that assaulted all interrogated individuals, it was the result of the genjutsu array. Haunting images of injuries, desperate situations, kidnapping, torture, even going so far as to send images of rape to most of the kunoichi, and the genjutsu also helped to attack the weakness in one's mindit was a test of will and psyche, more than a test of the intelligence of the mind.

So now comes the second portion of the exam. The Forest of Death. But one has to ask the question. What is going to take place in that grim location? What surprises await them? Only one way to find out, wait and read the next chapter.

Now, for a preview of the next chapter: As the exam continues and each team searches for their way to pass and get through the Forest of Death, the past catches up with Naruto and Hinata, as over a decade of hatred and loathing and bitterness helps to give new meaning to term 'Survival' exam. And as this struggle ensues, history repeats itself and turns the Forest of Death, into the road to hell.


	15. Chapter 15

Well, I'm back after a month off. Sorry about the late update. A lot of things I had to deal with, not just Christmas. But on that point, I hope you all had an enjoyable holiday season. Also, on another note, I did not manage to pass my exam yet again (that test is a bitch). But enough of my excuses, I hope you all can forgive me and that this is good recompense. To those who have reviewed, once again a many thanks to you. Your comments are very helpful and I enjoy your words. And for those who wanted me to continue with the difference in the Forest of Death portion of the exam, I hope you enjoy this. Anyways, on to the chapter.

Chapter Fifteen - The Forest of Death

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"I'm sorry, I thought I heard you say the 'Forest of Death.' " managed Ino, who was sputtering out that statement in sheer horror. The Forest of Death was one of the most infamous training grounds in all of Konoha. Urban legends and horror stories spoke of numerous people losing their life in that place.

For it was apparently more than a forest, it was hell itself, as was spoken by the survivors of the area. The trees seemed to be alive, spectres seemed to haunt the land, and other unknown ghastly things occurred in there. And it was even rumored that if you died in the Forest, it absorbed your very soul, leaving you in limbo.

While these horror stories may not be known by many outside of Konoha, those from Konoha who were about to participate in the next portion of the Chuunin exam were becoming petrified. Anko sensed the growing unease among the group and laughed to herself. _'It appears even fear is contagious. The uneasiness from the Konoha natives is spreading and rattling the nerves of some of these other foreign nin. We might have more teams drop out before it even begins.'_

They continued to move until they were in a clearing and surrounding them were towering trees and large gates. A small tent was pitched with a screen set up and there appeared to be two people seated behind a desk. All the genin teams looked around, taking in the scenery there and awaited for Anko to give them further instructions. They didn't have to wait long.

"Alright, kids. This is the Forest of Death." She then spread her arms out and waved while turning, in a gesture of showing them, just in case they couldn't see without proper instruction. She then pointed at the colossal gates. "You see the gates on the border of the Forest?" At the genins nods and mumbles of understanding, she continued. "Those will be your entry points. There are only six gates, so there will be more than one team assigned to an entry gate. The order at which each team will take to the gate will be assigned when you head to that tent over there." Again she pointed, making sure they understood. "Now, for the rules. This area, kiddies, is dangerous." Everyone could hear her derisive tone and quite a few teams disliked the tone. But Anko didn't care, it was her job to make them understand the situation they were about to willingly encounter.

"Before I go further, I will need each team to sign this liability sheet here. One will be assigned to each team and I will need each individual's signatures. This sheet ensures that if anything happens to you while in the Forest of Death, that Konoha will not be held liable. If you don't sign, then you don't enter." She had successfully answered all the unasked questions and so, without hesitation, each team signed the sheets. She was a little dismayed that no one turned heel and quit due to paranoid fear. _'Persistent and stubborn. Doesn't matter, more than half of these teams will be chopped down by the end of this portion.'_

"Very good, everything seems to be in order. Now, on to the rules. The rules are as followed. Each team will choose one person on the team to go to the tent. There, you will receive a device. This device is going to help as a radar. With this radar, you are going to be searching for a scroll in the forest. The scroll is blank." She then took a moment to catch her breath and look around just to see their faces. It was of confusion and curiosity, which was good, meaning they would be paying attention. "Why this scroll is important, even though it is blank, is because this is your ticket to passing to the next leg. Only a few have been placed in various points of the forest, so it would be in your best interest to find them before they are all gone.

"Now, if you can get your hands on one of the scrolls, you will have your ticket, but be warned. We also placed dummy scrolls in the forest, as well." Now this caught everyone by surprise, as they started to become nervous. "The difference between the dummy scrolls and the actual scrolls can't be known until you are inside the tower at the middle of the forest. Once inside, unravel your scroll and sign the scroll and fuse your chakra into it, and when I say you, I mean every member on your team. Then roll it back up and place it into the slot of the large door that you will see. If it is the real deal, the door will open. If it isn't, you will be teleported back into the forest where you found that particular scroll." Now everyone's eyes bulged. Some of the genin were pissed, others were very nervous. But still there were a few teams who didn't seem to sweat. Mainly because they thought this wasn't a big deal, as long as they could get back. Obviously the point of this was to test your resolve to be prepared for an unpredictable scenario. And besides, there was no time limit, so they would have all the time in the world.

"Also, for those who still don't seem to be humbled yet by the task before you, I can only guess as to why, and I'm afraid I have to burst your bubble. You all have four days." This sent a bolt down the spines of everyone present, save for Anko, since this was her little project. She was given the task to design an elaborate test and she was awfully pleased with herself. "I won't spell anything else out for you, but this is an exam to test your resolve, as well as your preparation skills. You have knowledge of the consequences of making certain decisions, so you need to prepare properly if a scenario arises that forces you to take an alternate approach to surviving. If you still don't understand, then tough. That's your fault for being unprepared. Now, choose a member of your team and send them to get the radar."

After a few more moments, every team had sent off a member of their team to get the radar, Naruto having been chosen by the team because Hinata would need her eyes ready for possible surprise attacks and to help locate the scrolls' location. Sasuke would've been the better choice but he had suggested Naruto. Though this was a bit weird, in Sasuke's mind it was completely justified.

As Naruto waited in the line, he saw others that were familiar to him. From Team Eight, he saw Sakura in line to receive the tracking device. This made sense since she always appeared to be smarter than most people, except for Shikamaru, but Shika always kept that side of himself to himself. Plus, with Kiba's nose and Shino's kikai bugs, she was the only one without an evident tracking ability so this would cancel out that slight weakness in her team's department.

With slight amusement, he saw Shika from his team, as well, in line to get the tracking device. More than likely, Ino probably made him go get it. It always seemed to be the most amusing thing he had ever had the privelege to see. Shikamaru was one of the laziest, most unmotivated people Naruto had ever met - even if Shika was quite talented - but it never seemed to fail that Ino could motivate him to do something through suggestive threats and clenching fists. Naruto actually wondered if Shikamaru had to be '_motivated_' to participate in the exam, but now that he was here, Naruto had no doubt that he would see them in the next part. You could say many things about Shikamaru, that he was lazy, selfish, unmotivated, and generally irresponsible, but once he had actually put forth the effort to get himself involved in something, the boy didn't know how to lose, fail, or give up. If Naruto had to guess, Shikamaru might actually drag his team with that 'Shadow' technique of his if he needed to just to get to that tower in the center of the forest.

Someone else he recognized was the brown-eyed, dark haired girl, with the chinese pink shirt and puffy pants called Tenten. When she saw him, she sent him a friendly smile and wave, which Naruto found himself returning, a bit surprised. But he guessed he shouldn't judge the people who are 'forced' to hang around with that cocky, arrogant ass just because they are his teammates to be the same as him. Actually, Naruto had asked Hinata what the green-clad, hyper boy with the big eyebrows known as Lee, and this girl, Tenten, were like. She told him that they were especially friendly, but were loyal to each other. Despite Neji's behavior and mannerisms, they were teammates and therefore, supportive of him. Naruto actually respected that and respected them for being able to put up with him.

Turning his attention to others in the line, he muttered curses under his breath when he saw one of those genin that tried to instigate him earlier today, but he finally made a careful notation in his mind as he observed something about this person. It was the girl with the long, dark hair, and camouflage gear on, but her hitai-ite was unique, just like that 'Shadow' team from Lightning country. But this headband had the symbol of a musical note on it. _'Sound? That's a bit odd. I didn't hear anything about them. But I guess since they are here still, they must be pretty good.'_

He then saw the blonde hair from that one girl from Sunagakure. If he recalled correctly, then her name was Temari. Normally, he would be really pissed off for being regarded by her and her teammates as being inferior, just because he was a rookie. But there was something about all of them that spoke incredible ability. Especially that red-haired boy. His face, voice, and eyes all helped to give him the one thing that Naruto never wanted to admit to feeling from his competition, and that was intimidation, as well as a pang of fear. Gaara seemed to be the strongest person on his team and his team's behavior towards him influenced that judgment. One thing Naruto admitted to himself, which he would mimic and tell Hinata and Sasuke was that they needed to try and avoid that team.

Finally, Naruto had reached the front of the line and after signing another form, they handed him an odd device that he studied for a brief moment. It was a faded black color with a few buttons, and an antenna. Naruto then asked a couple of questions regarding the functions and was given quick, yet bored, responses, as if they were tired of repeating the information. After Naruto thought about it, there had been fifteen others ahead of him and he apologized, but they just waved him off, mentioning something about it being their job. Naruto just scooted away, going over the information in his head.

The device was only going to have a tracking range of, at maximum, 25 yards. While this irritated him, he admitted that the limited range went along with the purpose of this portion of the exam. If he guessed correctly, then this task that they had to do was to test their investigatory abilities, as well as tracking, stealth, and survival skills. And since the forest was probably very massive, each team could choose a sector and carefully scan the areas thoroughly.

He approached Hinata and Sasuke, flashed the odd equipment, and explained very quickly the functions of the device. They seemed to soak it up relatively quickly, which was a good thing, because Anko was calling for everyone's attentions again.

"Every team now has a locator, right? If you don't, then tough shit, you're outta luck at this point because it's time. As you can all see, there are eight gates. Now look to your locators." She watched as everyone did as instructed. "You see the number on there? Hope you know your math. Number's one through eight, your teams need to report to the assigned gates." She watched as eight teams scooted to their respective gates. "Now, 9 through 16, treat your numbers as if they were 1 through 8, number 9 being number 1 and so on. And the same goes with numbers 17 through 24. Go." Every team then moved until there were three teams at each of the eight gates. "At least you know simple math. Now, in a few moments, the gates will open and the first teams will go through their gate. Then the second wave will go one minute later, and same with the third wave. Establish an area you want to search through and begin, but be wary and always...Watch...your...back." She then flashed a particularly malevolent smile at every single team that sent shivers through mostly everyone's spine.

Time seemed to drag on forever as they all waited but all too soon, an alarm began to ring out from each gate as great gears could be heard turning, cranking, and grinding. Suddenly, the massive doors that blocked the entrance to the Forest of Death began to open. Naruto waited anxiously and then felt a nudge from behind him, and saw Kidremé smiling at him with his teammates to his right and left. The young boy extended his hand to Naruto, which Naruto took and shook it. "Good luck to you three."

"Same for you and your team, Naruto-kun."

Then Naruto felt a jab in his ribs and looked at Sasuke quickly before he saw that Sasuke was motioning for them to go. He turned and looked forward, seeing that the two people who were standing as sentry for the gate were motioning for them to go. So he, Sasuke, and Hinata dashed into the forest as quickly as possible, determined to get a good position for themselves.

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Meanwhile, Kid had watched them move into the forest with intense speed and then sent a wary glance to his left, looking at a team from Kumo. This didn't go unnoticed, since Elru sensed his shift in mood. "Is there anything wrong, Kid?"

"A team from Kumo was sending particularly vicious glares at Naruto-kun's team."

Zeke just grunted in acknowledgement. He, too, had felt it and was quite amused. "This long, and yet still, they can't get over it, huh? Petty, just petty." He then chuckled in arrogance.

"No matter how petty it might seem to us, it doesn't change what they will do" spoke Kid.

"It's not our place to get involved. It's not your place to get involved. Let the princes and princess of this village deal with it themselves." Still, Zeke's sarcasm persisted.

"I, as has Kid, have grown a little fond of that blonde boy. And even the quiet, timid girl and their stuck-up partner. But, like Zeke said, it isn't our place to get involved." Elru's words seem to have a great impact on her teammates but before further discussion could continue, they saw that they were being motioned to enter. Doing so, they went right to work.

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"Are you sure you know how to work that thing? We've been wandering around for hours and still haven't even picked up a signal, baka." Sasuke was getting impatient. He wanted to find a few scrolls and hurry to the tower as quickly as possible. The sooner they did so, the better off they would be just in case they happened to choose a trap scroll and get sent back into the forest.

"I'm doing exactly what I was told to, I can't help it if we are in an empty area." Naruto grumbled, mumbling curses at Sasuke for trying to put the blame on him. He continued muttering to himself as they continued jumping through the trees. Since the locator worked by sending the signals in a 25 hard radius all around, they decided to move at a brisk pace. Not too fast that they might pass up a scroll if the device located one, but not too slow so that it would take forever to get through the forest.

What was really pissing off Naruto was that - now another hour later - they still hadn't gotten a signal. _'I swear if this thing is broken, I'm going to get really pis-'_ but he cut his own thoughts off as he felt something was off.

Meanwhile, Sasuke was seething underneath the surface. The images that kept flashing through his mind from the interview yesterday had done more than it's fair share of damage. It downright pissed him off. He wanted to forget the whole damn thing, but his mind kept returning to the events and he persisted in brooding over it. The only thing that Sasuke was thankful for out of this whole ordeal was that Naruto and Hinata hadn't picked up on his agitation.

(Flashback)

Sasuke stepped into the room and took notice of the stark contrast between this room and the room right outside. He took cautious steps towards the area that was lit. A rather strange design lay on the ground and in the middle, was a chair that Sasuke could only assume was meant for him. He walked up to the chair and looked at the seven people seated behind the desk, keeping a wary eye on his brother.

"Welcome, Uchiha Sasuke. Please be seated and we will begin." spoke the optimistic and cheerful voice of the Yondaime. But Sasuke could tell there was another side to that voice. It was daring him, daring him to sit. But since Sasuke doubted he'd have a choice in the matter of sitting or standing, he accepted the nonverbal dare of the Hokage. "Very well, then. Shall we begin?"

Sasuke then felt something. It was like a trigger was pulled. An invisible trigger that sprung a trap on him, and it was too late for him to escape. _'What the hell is that?'_

The answer was subtle and mild, yet it was very abrupt, and since he was making himself aware of any possible changes that might occur, he felt it when it did happen. It was as if a fog was beginning to form around him, thickening slowly but surely, as if gaining mass in his mind, and his mind felt burdened with the weight. He shook his head vigorously, like one would do to 'shake the cobwebs out', hoping it would help, but unfortunately it didn't, and it made him very uncomfortable. He gazed at each person accusingly, knowing it was their fault, that this was probably part of the exam, but it didn't make it any easier to accept.

"Tell us, Sasuke, why did you want to be a ninja?" The innocent question reminded Sasuke of his chats with Yamato-sensei, how the man would try to convince him that the reason he was a ninja was selfish.

"I wanted to be a ninja..." but he stopped as he thought to himself. Now that he was here, under the scrutinous gaze of these seven figures, he had to ask himself that question. But a quick look at Itachi gave him his answer. "I wanted to be a ninja because that was my choice. I had no other path that I could walk, given the circumstances." And that was the truth. If the other six, just like he knew Itachi did, could understand, then they would see the truth behind it. It wasn't some pointless, selfish reason.

He was the youngest child of Uchiha Fugaku, and his older brother was none other than the 'Uchiha prodigy', Itachi. Sasuke, faced with walking in the shadow of his brother, and his accomplishments compared to Itachi's, it set forth an incredible level of expectations. If he didn't even make an attempt to follow in the footsteps of Itachi, then their father would forever think of him as an embarrassment and disgrace to the clan for making him look like a fool.

"Hmm...very well. Then tell us, despite these 'circumstances', did you have a proper grasp of what is required out of you in this line of work?" questioned the Hokage. After the question was voiced, Sasuke felt something happen, a greater something, that seemed to make the heavy fog heavier.

He was now being bombarded with images that were dismal, morbid, and, on a certain level, frightening. He saw himself in certain situations: trying to fight on water but being forced under while fighting for air, being tortured with various sharp instruments of brutality, seeing himself viciously slain, and, perhaps the most perverse images of all, he saw himself doing all those things to people who appeared to be begging for mercy - even obviously innocent woman and children. He only had one thought after that: _"What the fuck?"_

Sasuke knew that these images were being forced into his mind, and it probably had something to do with what was causing the burdening weight on his mind. He felt like he was actually asleep, even though he knew he was awake, and that he was in a dreamscape, being forced to bear witness to gruesome nightmares. And since he knew it was the seven people before him who had something to do with this, he felt himself repulsed by the depravity.

He suddenly became aware that he had not answered the question, so he forced himself to push through, and fought with himself for his voice. He finally won and answered, "Yes, I had a grasp of what was required out of me. And I also had an understanding of what might occur to me, but this was my choice."

"So you say, but I don't think you had anywhere near the knowledge of what to expect out there, kid. But that aside, why don't you tell us now why you feel that you are qualified to be a chuunin?" This time, the question was voiced by the intimidating form of Morino Ibiki.

"I feel that I am qualified to become a chuunin because that is what I feel. There is, I believe, no point in me remaining a genin at this point." Sasuke was happy that that answer came alot easier. However, his momentary victory was shattered as the familiar voice rose and questioned him.

"So, on a simple belief, you feel that you are qualified to rise in rank? We would all have to question that reason. In light of your 'circumstance', as you put it, the question must be raised on if your reasoning isn't of a selfish desire to prove something. Whether or not that something is acceptable to you, it could be viewed as selfish and pointless to others. Becoming a ninja means dedication to your village. As a genin, and a ninja, you should know this. But the rank of chuunin carries with it responsibilities that far outclass those of genin. If you have selfish intentions for taking this exam, you put not only your life, but the lives of others, in danger if you are not truly prepared for it."

Itachi's words stung. Actually, they more than stung, they downright hurt. He was being very harsh, much more harsh than Sasuke ever remembered. Did Itachi honestly believe that he was trying to go up in rank just because of family pride? It wasn't _'just because'_ of family pride, it was more than that. But the words just simply wouldn't come, and if he couldn't put up any kind of argument to Itachi's comments, then he might fail. Suddenly, Sasuke's mind was assaulted by more images, but this time of his family. He saw himself being ridiculed and laughed at, and even being banished for embarrassing the clan. And then, he saw it.

What he saw was the situation from that mission, where he and his team, as well as team eight, were being attacked by the imposter, Vega, and that behemoth, Garrett. He saw every little detail. He saw Naruto, Hinata, Sakura, Kiba, and Shino all trying to handle Garrett, while he was trying to watch the fight between Yamato-sensei and Vega. He hoped that he could pick up a few new powerful techniques that he might be able to use later. But what was disturbing about the recollection, was that he could also remember his purpose for doing so. To flash it in front of his father and make him proud.

Sasuke felt the anger rise within himself. A deep-seething loathing for what he had failed to do. He was supposed to be helping his comrades, but he didn't. And for such a selfish reason. He was extremely pissed at himself. He then remembered how he had been awarded that medal, along with everybody else, and felt disgust. And that's when it clicked. His reason for being a chuunin. It was more than to prove to himself and others that he was a strong Uchiha. It was for recompense. He felt a need to repay the debt he felt he owed to his teammates. He was going to take this exam, and help his friends pass.

He looked straight at them all, armed with an activated sharingan - which had activated in his anger and rage - and sent a menacing look at them. He felt it all building up, before he finally let his answer come. "Whether or not my belief is reason enough to go to chuunin is not the real issue here. I have my reasons, as does everyone else. But you want to know my reason?" He then reached into his pouch and felt the medal. He pulled it out and tied it around his neck, with some wire that he had wrapped it in so that he could wear it like a necklace. He pointed at it before he continued, "This was awarded to me, as well as my teammates, for our actions in a mission. I will continue to perform and persevere in order to make sure that this was deserved. I feel that it is what I owe."

He watched as they all seemed to think to themselves for a while before they all focused back on him. It was the Yondaime that spoke. "Very good. That concludes this portion for you. You may leave. If you would ask for your teammate, Hinata, to come in next, please?"

As Sasuke got up to leave, thankful that the cloudiness was slowly dissipating, he nodded in understanding, and left.

(End Flashback)

Sasuke didn't realize that he attracted the attention of Hinata, who gazed at him worriedly. When Sasuke did take notice, he blushed in slight embarrassment about having been so caught up in his own thoughts that he had been noticed. Turning away from her in order to avoid the worried look on her face, he tried to give a viable excuse, but found himself stammering out something instead. "S-Sorry bout that...did you need something?"

"Yeah, teme, I need you to shut up and pay attention. Do you both notice something off?" The question, while coming off a bit agitated, was not meant to be taken that way. He was just trying to snap Sasuke out of whatever funk he was in. And it did it's trick.

"Yeah, I do, baka. You don't seem to know what the hell you are doing," came the spiteful, yet sarcastic, reply from Sasuke.

"No, it's not that...I think something isn't right, but I don't have eyes like you two do. Could you both activate them and scan the area?" It was no longer a question, but a pleading request. Nodding, they both complied.

Hinata shook her head and looked around. "This can't be..." she managed to breath out in fear and startlement. This caught the attention of both Sasuke and Naruto, the former not even having had time to bring forth his sharingan.

"What is it, Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto anxiously. He didn't like that sound in her voice.

She looked up at the sky quickly, then retreated her eyes back to looking around. She did it in a furious manner, as if she were a predator searching for signs of bleeding prey. "I-It's very heavy and equally as strong. I...I think it could be stronger than the genjutsu from the first test." That statement struck more than nerves. It struck them right in their brains, where fear was processed. When she was asked to explain, she gulped and fought for the right words, so as to not confuse her teammates. "It's a field around us, with three focal points. I c-can only assume that th-those points are where i-it was cast from."

Sasuke, now astonished, activated his sharingan. In his studies with Yamato, as well as his family, in the art of genjutsu, he had come to understand that a genjutsu that is personally designed is capable of bending to the creator's will. Also, he remembered hearing about such a thing as what Hinata had currently described to them. It was known as a Trigram Prison, or a three-point genjutsu array.

Requiring three individuals, the genjutsu was created in layers that melded together to form one solid structure. Like a house, this genjutsu required a foundation. This foundation was the genjutsu's ultimate purpose. Then you added walls or, in this case, barriers. And finally, you put the finishing touches. This could range from added side-effects, to strengthening the structure that was the genjutsu. The more one strengthened a genjutsu, the harder it was to recognize and thus becme harder to break.

Now with his sharingan active, he searched for the chakra flow and was amazed. It was true what she said. _'Three points means three casters, but that also means...that this is a much stronger genjutsu than one would expect from these ninja in the exam who are trying to be chuunin. This is more along the lines of a jounin-level jutsu. Just who the hell cast this?'_

"Hey, Hinata, your byakugan can find a person much easier than my sharingan can. Can you tell where they are, the people who cast this thing?" He waited patiently as she did one more scan, ready to assault their location. If he was right, then they had been caught in this genjutsu, and the best way to break a three-point genjutsu was to destabilize the casters' positions. Once the points had been established, the casters had to stay in the general area, but if they could force them to move, then this might disperse. What he heard, however, made him realize the position they were in.

"Th-Th-There is no o-one in th-the general area." came her shaky response. She was becoming increasingly uncomfortable. She could see through the genjutsu and she could see the three points, but they were unoccupied. But she did notice one thing particularly curious. Before she could try to make sense of it, Sasuke's voice broke through her concentration again.

"What do you mean? They have to be there. No genin that is in this exam has given me the feel of this level of ability!" He then realized he was shouting and slow breaths to calm himself while waving a hand apologetically, but when he saw Naruto's questioning glance, he took it as his cue to go on. "Yamato-sensei told me that a genjutsu like this required three people to establish the design. But it usually required the casters of the genjutsu to stay nearby for it to keep on working. If what Hinata says is true, and they are not in the vicinity, then the casters are feeding the genjutsu from a farther location, but that should be impossible for genin. That is definitely jounin-level capabilities." He then gave them both a grim look. "We have to do everything in our power to break it and get far away. If these guys are hunting us, for whatever reason that might be, then I can only assume we are out-matched in terms of skill."

Naruto was, surprisingly, impressed with Sasuke for more than his fighting ability. Sasuke seemed to be very well-versed in this kind of stuff and Naruto felt himself gravitating to Sasuke for leadership in this position. Naruto may be a bit hard-headed, but he did know when to admit he had a weakness. His weakness was definitely genjutsu, because he just didn't associate with that in his training and fighting style. So he felt himself hanging on to Sasuke's every word, waiting for his job in this process of destroying the genjutsu. Especially since Sasuke's mentioning of them being possibly hunted by another team in this exam with more ability than their rank let on, it sorta made him nervous.

Naruto waited, at first patiently but then it started to deteriorate into impatience, as Sasuke and Hinata mumbled to each other and experimented with how the genjutsu reacted to them. It wasn't until a few moments later that Sasuke and Hinata seemed to come to an agreement on something. He saw Sasuke turn to him before the boy spoke. "Naruto, we have a plan. It'll need your Kage Bunshins though. Could you make two for us?" Nodding, while grinning, he set about setting up the technique.

Normally, Naruto would just do the technique and be done with it, accepting what would normally happen. But they were in an exam, and creating two kage bunshins would split his chakra store in thirds, which was unacceptable. So, he formed the cross seal, but instead of leaving like that, he shanged the seal and stuck his thumbs out. If you were to see it, it would look like he was making a cross with his index and middle fingers, while his thumbs came together at 90 degree angles and formed a box. He then applied the chakra he wanted to into the technique and shouted out his command. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The result was two perfectly looking Kage Bunshins to stand next to Naruto, but the difference was noticed by him. He felt that his chakra capacity was still pretty full. He designed the bunshins to each gain only three percent of his chakra storage for the bunshins use. They were weaker than equally created 'kage bunshins' and could be destroyed much easier, but depending on what his teammates needed them for, they might do just fine.

"Okay. Now Naruto, have them walk around a little." Naruto nodded, though a bit confused, in understanding and commanded his bunshins to do as Sasuke wanted. After a little bit, Sasuke had Naruto make them stop. Then Sasuke and Hinata conferenced with each other again. Finally, they stopped talking to each other and sighed in relief. "Naruto, make one more, and then we might be able to break out of this."

He did as requested and waited for further instructions. Surprisingly, it was Hinata who spoke next. "Naruto-kun, we need your bunshins to move to where I tell them to, understood?" Naruto nodded his head, and told his bunshins to follow Hinata's and Sasuke's orders for now. The three kage bunshins nodded their heads in understanding and came close to Hinata. She then set about positioning the kage bunshins to look in a particular direction each. After another few moments of doing that, she then told everyone what the plan was.

Apparently, from what Hinata and Sasuke had come to understand, the genjutsu was more complex than just what had been told already. The border of the genjutsu reacted to their movements, moving away when they tried to approach the boundary. But, it didn't react to the 'Kage Bunshins' that Naruto had created. So the plan was, since 'kage bunshins' could perform independently from the user, they would have the bunshins move to the three focal points and then use the 'Genjutsu dispel technique.' Naruto, somewhat understanding, told his bunshins to do as they were told again. The three bunshins nodded and awaited the final instructions.

After Sasuke and Hinata had finally finished giving the specific details to each bunshin, they made the bunshins look in particular directions. One at a time, they called for each bunshin to walk straight in the direction they faced until they were told to immediately stop. After each one did as instructed, Hinata and Sasuke looked at Naruto and told him to get ready.

"Alright, on the count of three, every one of us is going to dispel this genjutsu." commanded Sasuke. Everyone else nodded in understanding and waited for the countdown. "Okay...One...Two..." Everyone started to build up their chakra in a bubble inside their stomach, ready to make it burst and send the shockwave out, which should dispel the genjutsu they were under. "Three."

"KAI!"

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Meanwhile, a good distance away from Team Seven, a different team of genin waited, seemingly patiently, but it was hard to tell. These individuals, as symbolized by their headbands, were from Kumogakure, and were surprisingly relaxed. The three of them had seemed to be content just waiting for whatever it was they were waiting for to happen. But what ended up happening, wasn't what they expected.

One of the three, a young man dressed in various cloths that were all sewn together as one might think when taking a look at him, looked up suddenly. The cloths, which had once been white - now only a dirty grayish/yellowish color from constant use - was wrapped around his body and hung on his form loosely. In the areas that the strange clothing didn't cover up his frame, bandages wrapped around the exposed flesh. Such areas were his forearms and lower legs.

This action of his did not go unnoticed by one of the other two in his team. This one was wearing a blue vest over a white bodysuit and his legs covered with pants that did not cling to him like the bodysuit. The pants were really only there for modesty sake after enough cracks on looking like a tree-hugger. His gaze settled upon the one who had suddenly looked up. "What is it, Hokumo?"

Hokumo looked at his teammate and gave a quick, bored reply. "They dispelled the Prison, Raizen." He looked upon the man whom he responded and saw the shocked, and then outraged, face of him.

"How is that possible? You said it yourself that the Tri-Field Prison was damn near impossible to break out of. How did these simps break out?" His question was filled with fury and disbelief.

It was unfortunate that Hokumo's response, he knew, would not be enough to quell his teammate's quickly rising anger. "That was why I stressed _near_ impossible. It does have it's weakness to both inside and outside forces. But I am able to tell...they broke it from the inside." Seeing Raizen's face stay angered, but held now more curiosity and questioning, he felt the need to explain.

"The Tri-Field Prison, as I explained, imprisons the target into a three point genjutsu. They will only do as we want them to. But if they recognize they are in the genjutsu, then they will become aware and know they need to dispel it. But the only way to do so is to attack all three points at once. However, I made sure that when we cast the jutsu, that the border of the field affected would expand and contract accordingly.

"The only way anyone should be able to counter that factor was to introduce outside presence. Only a foreign presence can get by that obstacle. And the only way to do that is to either summon creatures...or to create perfect physical replicants of one's self. And if I remember correctly, I witnessed the blonde boy using the Kage Bunshin skill during one of his practices." He waited for the information to sink in before he tried to explain anything more.

"Well, at least they won't be boring, eh Raizen?" The person who belonged to this audible statement was none other than their third and final teammate. He had on a sleeveless vest that was the sickliest looking shade of green with a ragged looking brown longsleeve shirt underneath it and pants, whose color matched the same shade of green as the vest. He, just like Raizen, wore his headband around his head - and the headband's cloth had been extended to cover the entire head and hair. Overall, both men dressed like brothers, but they weren't.

"Yeah, guess they won't be. Good, now I might be able to have some fun." came Raizen's reply to his other teammate, Yensui.

"You might want to hold off on your desires for revenge for just a little longer." The dull drawl of Hokumo's voice snapped the other two out of their fierce reverie.

"And why should we do that, Hokumo? Offer unto us your great wisdom." The sarcasm was intended to be heard and felt, but it shocked him when Hokumo merely looked up into the sky and gaze appreciatively at the cloudy skies.

"Do not mock her message. Her eyes grow weary but she has not yet wept. It might be best to wait until her tribute for the damned is concluded lest we invoke her ill will." Hokumo's cryptic messages had always creeped Raizen out. But not this time. He understood fully well.

Hokumo always seemed to have a knack for predicting what should be unpredictable: the weather. But there were some rare occurances where he would attribute freak storms to the premonition of ill omens. Apparently, on this grim looking day, Hokumo believed they should air on the side of caution. And Raizen was not foolish to tempt that which he did not understand, so he begrudgingly accepted.

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Evening came by quickly for the three of them. Never before were they so on edge than they were this evening. The unknown attack on them had their nerves firing and they were more aware of their surroundings than they had felt ever before. And for a very good reason. An unknown foe might be hunting them and they didn't know where the threat was.

The only good thing that came from this day was that after they dispelled the genjutsu, they found a scroll hidden in a dug-out hollow of an old tree not too far away. Whether it was a real one or a false one, they wouldn't be able to tell until time came to test it.

They each had taken a three-hour shift watching over the campsite for the evening until dawn broke and they continued. Again, Naruto used the device and they started tracking down a second scroll. A sense of unease was still lingering around them all, but they were ever diligent.

Hinata kept scanning the areas, not just for the scroll but also for possible intruders. She believed it to be partially her fault for what happened yesterday and she was determined not to let it happen again. With the new determination, she set about focusing her byakugan's vision to not only see but probe. She took careful precautions to not 'probe' too much when her vision happened to glance by her teammates.

She wouldn't show it openly (at least she tried her best not to openly show it) but the knowledge that a genjutsu was used on them that not even her unfocused byakugan vision could discern from reality was disturbing and haunted her mind. It really scared her, that her one crutch - her one true usefulness - could be hindered. So she continued to scan the area around them until...

BOOM

A sudden deafening roar sailed through the skies above them, alerting them to the impending storm that was about to be upon them. Naruto cursed their fate. The humidity was stronger and thicker today than it was the previous day - so much so that one could even swear to smelling the thickened moisture. And then the rain came...and with it, a feeling of apprehension and anxiety set in. If they were being hunted and stalked like some prey, then this would be their most vulnerable moment. Naruto was nervous, and the feelings his thoughts brought to him shook him to his very core.

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Sakura dashed through the rain and practically leapt in to a safe haven, underneath some of the thickest branches she had encountered on a tree. Though she was safe from the torrential downpour occurring just a few feet away from her, she was not safe from the debris. As the rain fell, drops of water weaved their way through the leaves of the tree and continued to drip onto certain spots of the covering. She just so happened to be under one of those spots.

"Gah, why did it have to rain!? This is going to hold us up for a while." Her frustrated statement was not directed at just herself, but also the surrounding atmosphere and her teammates.

Kiba, along with his dog, Akamaru, were both soaked as much as she was. Kiba's parka was heavy with absorbed water and his hair no longer remained wild and untamed but matted down from being wet. Akamaru was the same way. His fur was matted down as well, his ears droopy, and his tail hung pitifully to symbolize his dislike of these circumstances.

Dog and master - who behaved like a dog himself - proceeded to shake their bodies like dogs in order to dry themselves more efficiently than just waiting it out. Though it helped relieve them of some of their dampness, it did not help their fellow teammates Shino and Sakura. And though Shino remained as stoic as ever as he turned around and cleaned his glasses, the same could not be said for the pink-haired kunoichi.

Kiba immediately sensed her swelling anger and began to cower away from the impending blow. He always hated having to walk on egg shells around the ticking time-bomb known as Haruno Sakura but he had become used to her temper. In fact, that was one of the things that was appealing to him. She wasn't as dainty as she appeared in the academy. She was as big a tomboy as he had seen, despite appearances to the contrary.

Sakura was on the verge of unleashing her doom on the Inuzuka, but when she nearly threw her fist right towards his noggin, she noticed a distinct shift in his attitude. Where he was just a few moments ago cowering from her, he was now alert and his attention wasn't focused on her. Normally, this would only further her rage, but at this point, an alert Kiba could spell trouble. She then heard the telltale signs. The white dog who followed Kiba everywhere began whimpering and jumped up into Kiba's arms and snuggled into his parka, almost obscuring himself from the eyes of everyone around him.

"Hey Kiba, what's wrong with Akamaru?" she asked, genuine concern in her voice. True, she was still upset that water had splattered all over her, but she was already wet, so she could get over it.

"I don't know, but he's upset. Something's got him shaken, and even I can sense it." He then shuddered and Sakura saw his canine tendencies begin to show. Kiba was definitely on edge and he was ready to pounce at a moments notice.

"It can't be _that_ bad, can it?" she asked.

"Normally, I would concur with you, Sakura, but in this case, whatever is getting under his and his dog's skin, is also affecting my hive." Shino's intrusion on the conversation rattled the poor girl and it didn't help when she saw him shudder as well. "My insects are over-alert. They sense a familiarity in the air, but it is also unfamiliar. It is a disturbing conundrum that has me alarmed."

Without warning, there was a mighty explosion in the distance and the resulting tremors did little to keep the queasiness down from the members of Team Eight. They took off at high speed, no longer worried about being wet, seeking distance from whatever caused the great explosion.

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In the tower at the middle of the Forest of Death, an alarm sounded. The constant shrill wail kept anyone from being at ease in the compound. A certain purple-haired kunoichi was among the individuals stationed in the tower whose task was to watch over the goings of the forest.

She approached the nerve center of the tower, the communications/camera room. Here, feedback from dozens of security cameras were supposed to be seen through the many monitors around the room. As she opened the door, she immediately saw the effects of whatever it was that happened, had done. Some monitors were blank, others were showing static, while a great many were rebooting.

"Kotetsu, status report." she commanded.

"Well, Anko-san, there was a massive disturbance in the forest that has knocked a large number of our cameras off-line. As you can see, we are trying to get the feed back up from the cameras that are rebooting, but it might take a few more minutes." His response was not what she was looking for.

"Do we have any idea of the focal center of the disturbance?"

"All we can tell is that it happened around quadrant 4D, but that is all we can tell." Came the reply from Genma, who was one of Kotetsu's partners.

It was after that statement that Hizashi walked into the room. He was also stationed there as an extra precaution. They gave him a quick explanation of what they knew and then watched as a camera was finished rebooting that might give them visual inside of sector 4D.

The camera, when they saw the feed, was on the ground, probably from a tree being knocked down. That meant that it's range-of-motion was limited. So they tried to make it scan as much as it could and what they saw was a cloud of dust that hadn't settled yet and the bodies of three shinobi who were taking the test. The unfortunate identities of these genin were Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Hinata. They were alive, fortunately, but were struggling to recover. It wasn't until they saw that the genin were still alive that a clouded figure could be seen in the unsettled dust and steady rainfall.

--------------------------------

Sasuke was still coughing up dirt when he saw Naruto sitting up while rubbing his temples and Hinata clenching and unclenching her jaw, probably in an attempt to pop her ears. That's when he felt it. A horrible chakra that radiated intent on a level well beyond that of human. This was utter contempt and hatred, something you would only expect to feel coming from a demon. As he looked to it's source, he froze, jaw slack, and eyes wide.

"Oh my god, no..." he mumbled low, but it didn't go unheard from his fellow teammates.

Naruto, who heard him, looked at him and then, after seeing his horrified expression, followed the boy's gaze to the blurred figure. That was when he heard it. A sinister chuckle that turned into maniacal laughter. Naruto froze, unable to make any move. He was trapped. Trapped by his own fear. His mind registered the need to escape and get away, but his body would not cooperate. It was a predicament that would have brought even adult men to tears, and Naruto was close to that. For he had never felt this helpless than when...

That was when he tried to locate Hinata and saw her frozen, tears forming in her eyes. _'Can she see it? What is it? Who is it? Is she really that scared?'_ The reason he referred to the figure as 'it' was quite simple. He didn't think a human was capable of such maniacal fanaticism for chaos. It was as if this person fed off their fear and kept becoming more imposing the more it drank. And then...the dust settled...and the being spoke.

"Hello, kiddies. I'm so glad we could be reunited." The imposing figure stood before them, the towering bulk of the individual that had haunted their nightmares for the past two months, he stood before them in all his vile glory. His smile was menacing and promised untold mirth and destruction.

Garrett, the nukenin of Iwagakure, had returned.

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Huzzah! This chapter is complete, finished, signed, sealed, and delivered to you all. Hope you enjoyed it. I had a small amount of trouble writing this chapter mainly for the fact it did not want to write itself. But hopefully the next chapter will do just that and I will have it out in a week or so. Until then, go ahead and give me your comments and opinions as you like.

On to the preview of the next chapter: With the reappearance of Garrett, hopelessness sinks into Team Seven as they have to fight for their very lives. As they struggle with this conflict, Sasuke makes a vow. Will they be able to overcome Garrett this time around or are they doomed to join the graveyard that has become the Forest of Death. Questions will be raised and fear will have a new meaning for the genin. (Next chapter is gonna be a bit brutal, so brace for that when the next chapter comes.)


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** I am so sorry for the atrocious tardiness of this update. I know that I said I hoped for the next chapter to be up and ready a couple weeks after my last update but that could not happen since I hit that roadblock again. I'm only comfortable with the work I write when that inspirational feeling goes through me. But those moments were few and far in-between. I can only hope that this meets your approval.

Also, the response to the last chapter was amazing so thank you to every one of you who reviewed. But as I just stated, I hope that this chapter is good enough to make up for my tardiness and my inability to keep my schedule. This one is on the long side, so buckle up, and get ready for the ride.

Chapter Sixteen - A Ballad for the Fallen

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Hyuuga Hizashi was a wise and knowledgeable man. He had been a very tedious studier and always seemed to remember most anything. That, along with his byakugan eyes, helped give him an image of sharpness. But that was what was expected from someone in the Hyuuga family. Being the brother of the head of the Hyuuga clan had it's perks, as well as it's downside.

One such thing he had learned through his years was that loyalty to the blood came first. But there, the loyalty branched. Ironic that he was a part of the 'Branch' family. His brother, born just minutes before he, was named the heir to the main family while he was burned with the Cursed Seal, forever bound to be loyal to his brother and the Main family. And while he hated that his family felt a need to contain the family with a seal, he would love his brother. And even if he felt that his son may be more talented in the Hyuuga arts than the heiress, Hizashi would not forget his role today.

Clenching his fists and gritting his teeth, he steeled himself with resolve. It would take some time to get there, even at full sprint, but he could get there in around ten minutes or so, if he was lucky enough that they survived. He could not let Hyuuga Hinata die today. And while he began to leave the premises, he asked himself the nagging question that he had overheard one of the other proctors stationed there ask.

_'How is it that that man with his aura managed to infiltrate both our village and the forest without detection?'_

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Life was beyond cruel. It had no purpose. If this is life, then there could not be any hopes for a better tomorrow. Because at the very moment, it seemed, in Naruto's mind, that the Forest of Death was going to live up to it's name.

As he got over the initial shock of seeing the man, he instinctively blinked...several times in vain, hoping he just hit his head and was seeing things...and that the chilling laughter was just a powerful headache...but life was not going to be that generous to him. No, he was truly standing before him.

It was almost a compulsive disorder that he had developed in his time being inactive as a ninja. He had to know about the man that had nearly killed him and his friends. What he found were repeated cycles of tales of horror and stories of awe. He had no family, from what any records he found had said, so he grew up by himself. When he was old enough, he got into the ninja academy of Iwagakure, and passed his first year, but he was far from a genius. No, the boy was a menace, and it was rumored that they passed him just to get him away from the other children trying to become genin.

Garrett apparently had a fascination with chaos. He basked in it's glow. Every mission he was on was completed with the most brutal of results. And when one mission led them to an ambush in a civilian village, when his teammates had wanted to leave for fear of their lives, Garrett completed the mission by himself. But not because of honor, or for his village, and it wasn't because his teammates had managed to get away. No, it was said that Garrett had killed them. And then he killed his sensei when the man tried to stop him but he didn't and in a freak phenomenon - which, no matter how hard he tried, Naruto could not find anything on - the civilian village was decimated, but Garrett managed to get out alive. He was sentenced to death for his crimes against his own people, but he merely escaped, and had been rumored to still be on the loose with an S-rank nukenin title hanging over his head.

It was when Naruto snapped his thoughts away from those things, that his brain seemed to register that Garrett was alive. "H...How...y-y-you're dead. You should be dead!" His voice quivered as he fought to speak against the gigantic form of his opposition.

"The same could be said for all of you." He spoke in such an amused tone, it made Naruto's blood boil. "But it'll take more than a handful of kids and their tree-hugging sensei to finally take me down." He brought his hands up together and began popping his knuckles. "And now it's just you three by yourselves this time. I'm gonna finish what was started two months ago." With that statement, he flared his chakra.

It was like watching a nightmare grow out of the boundaries of the realm of dreams into reality. The rather massive frame of Garrett began glowing an unearthly smoky black that permeated around him. The image would probably have them all trembling, if not for the fact that they needed to compose and ready themselves for the coming battle.

Naruto's mind worked a mile a minute. He couldn't find any possible reason they should stay and fight. While the ability to get away from their opponent seemed nearly impossible, their chance of victory against him was more slim than that. He was about to make the necessary seals for his 'distraction' jutsu when he saw Sasuke step forward slightly. Not in a way that might be interpreted as asking for confrontation, but it was in such a way that it made everyone present take notice of his position.

Naruto highly doubted that Garrett would even strike first anyways. If he was correct, then Garrett probably had an ego to match his strength and so he would probably let them all make the first move before he would react to it. That is to say that he would wait to attack until they did so, unless they were to try and retreat, and then Naruto could only guess that it was 'game on' from that point.

Sasuke's cold, indifferent voice cut through the air that was so thick with malice that anything that carried the hint of something else would easily be more noticeable. "Whether or not you came to settle a score with us does not take away from the fact that you have made a foolish decision on how to go about it." He followed that remark with a cocky grin that would unsettle anyone, especially given the dire circumstances.

Garrett was quite amused. The brat that chose to stay away from the battle the first time around was the first to step up to the plate, so to speak. He craned his head to the left and looked at him in honest curiosity as to why the sudden shift from fear to confidence occurred in this one. "And why would that be, puny whelp? Explain."

Sasuke released a sigh of relief as Garrett bit on the bait laid out in front of him. He surmised that this man might have an ego to go along with that power and anybody capable of showing him any sort of flaw in his plans or actions might gain his curiosity. Also, as long as they kept him talking instead of attacking, the more likely that ANBU forces might notice his presence and come to intercept him before they were handled swiftly. He might not like to admit it, but Sasuke knew when he was licked, and this man was obviously way above his level and he was near certain that they, even if they combined all of their power to one person, wouldn't be able to defeat him.

"Well, for starters, you chose to infiltrate our village. That was foolish decision number one. Since you came from a ninja village yourself, you should know that our village, Konoha, is one of the most revered shinobi villages across the lands. And while you may have infiltrated without being noticed (somehow, he thought to himself), I highly doubt that it will take too long for the special forces squads of our village to pick up on your foreign chakra signature and make their move to intercept you."

Sasuke waited before he continued to see if his words were carrying any sort of weight on the man. When he noticed the man seemed to be thinking upon the words, Sasuke gave himself a congratulatory pat on the back for winning a very small victory. Now he just had to keep the man listening and hopefully the ANBU would show up or possibly Garrett will take the words to heart and leave.

"Secondly, you have targeted us." Slightly narrowed eyes, with a slightly raised eyebrow, stared back at him and so Sasuke continued. "We all come from important families. I am Uchiha Sasuke," he said pointing to himself, "she is Hyuuga Hinata," pointing to her, "and he is Uzumaki Naruto," he finished, pointing to him. "Any actions taken against us will increase the magnitude that will be placed upon the issue of taking you down. Hell, his father is our village's leader. If you are from Iwagakure, as your headband suggests, then you should know what that means." Sasuke then smiled as he saw the tell-tale signs of discomforting information sinking into someone's mind.

Naruto had different thoughts, however. He felt that Sasuke just handed to this man information which would have been better off left unsaid. Now, Garrett had more of a reason to attack and, even more frightening, kill them. Killing two of the heirs-apparent to two of the most renowned clans in the village and the son of the Hokage, who was key in the defeat of Iwagakure in the Shinobi War, would be a big boon to this man's desire to have them dead.

Garrett processed the information and let the truth sink in...which had him furious. How had he become yet another example to that damn man's reputation? The Yellow Flash of Konoha was revered by shinobi of Iwa, more so than he. And somehow he had been defeated by the brat of that man? That did not sit well with him at all. But reviewing the information that this one boy, Uchiha Sasuke he had called himself, had given him, perhaps it was foolish to linger here and toy with his prey much longer. This conflicted with his nature spectacularly, but in the end, reason won over desire. Steeling himself, he prepared to strike down these foolish brats and put them in their place. They were going to pay for the humiliation he suffered.

"Perhaps what you say is true. Maybe it might seem foolish, but that never stopped me before. And I definitely won't let it now." He craned his neck to an angle where he popped the vertebral joints, the sound being drowned out by the rain, but it still carried across the area they were in. "It's fitting that this place will be your grave."

Hinata was shaken to her core. This man had almost killed her the last time they fought. And while she, as well as Naruto and Sasuke, had gotten stronger since then, so had this man. She had overcome any hesitation earlier about instigating Garrett by activating her Byakugan, and she had seen that instead of the normal blue that flowed through most shinobi's chakra coils, this man had an eerie smoky, ash-like haze circulating inside him. It was so odd that she had closed her eyes and upon opening them again, focused more chakra into them to help give her a stronger, more-detailed analysis, but it was the same the second time around.

And now, that hazy, smoky chakra was leaking through his body and permeating the air around them. In the already gloomy rainfall, the aura being emitted from Garrett was making the atmosphere thick with gloom and despair. It was as though this smoky aura was decaying the area. And that was when the truth truly settled in on Hyuuga Hinata. All of the signs pointed to the most likely outcome: they were going to die today.

But instead of turning her into a cowering, whimpering child who might plead for their life to be spared, it had a completely opposite effect. She knew that Garrett would attack to kill, and he would try to do it quickly before any retaliation could be met from ANBU or the like, so she prepared to fight with everything she had. The longer they could stall him, the more time it would give village shinobi the chance to intercept him and take him down. She straightened herself and re-armed her Byakugan and started to channel chakra into her hands, as well as her legs and feet.

Naruto saw her posture change from the rigidity you would expect from someone scared, to the relaxed yet tightened fighting stance of the Hyuuga fighting style. And while this slightly frightened him that she was so willing to confront this issue now head on, he had to admit to himself that there was probably no alternative. Ignoring what basic scientific principles said about objects - or in this case, people - the size of Garrett, he knew that they wouldn't be able to escape from his clutches, not unless they received help.

What he did not expect was that Sasuke stepped forward and in front of himself and Hinata. While this was not so troubling by itself, it was definitely made more odd by his aura. Naruto hadn't seen this side of Sasuke before, and that was saying a lot since Sasuke hadn't done much to warrant that thought at the moment. But the way he stood, it was of confidence. And the mood which had been heightened by this course of action was increased drastically by the words that came out of his mouth next. "Naruto, you and Hinata get out of here while you can. I'll hold this guy off as long as I possibly can."

"You can't be serious, I won't leave you to save my own ass," was Naruto's response to that statement. "We live, and die, as a team, so I won't leave."

"Baka Naruto, stop trying to be the big man and drop your moral code for once in your damn life! Don't you see? I need to do this!" Sasuke's statement gained Naruto's true attention. "I was asked by the proctors for the first exam...why do I want to be a chuunin? The answer is simple, Naruto. Because I need to prove that I deserve the recognition I receive."

Naruto was about to shout at Sasuke how he was being dumb and stupid until he saw Sasuke reach into one of his pouches and pull out the medal they had received. "I made a vow. I would go on until I could pay back the debt I owed. I didn't deserve this when I got it. I didn't do nearly enough to help out on that mission. I was nothing but a greedy, selfish coward." Clenching his fist around the medal in his hand, he continued on in fervent emotion. "I told myself, when I got the chance to pay back the debt I owed, I would do it without hesitation." He then looked at Naruto right in his eyes, the sharingan blazing to life. "This time, I will protect the people who have become precious to me."

Naruto was stiff as a board at that point. The look in Sasuke's eyes was of pure devotion to this cause. He wouldn't be talked out of it. Frantically searching his mind, he tried to find a way out of this situation. To diffuse it without him having to leave Sasuke behind with Garrett. Before he could think of something, however, Sasuke had stepped forward just a bit further to increase the distance between he and Naruto. And with a furious speed, Sasuke went through a set of hand seals and turned to his right. He gave Naruto and Hinata one last glance before he blew a stream of fire onto the ground a short distance away between him and his teammates.

Thankfully the rain had died down considerably; otherwise, this stunt of his would all be in vain. But with the rain as light as it was at this moment, it would not extinguish the fire he was using to set up the true jutsu he intended to use. As the soggy ground was struck with the fire stream, it seemed to ignite on the ground, a wall of flames springing up from the point where the stream met with the ground. He then shot through a number of hand seals and concentrated on the flame he had created. The fire suddenly began to spread and moved in an arc until only he and Garrett were left in the walls of fire. And since he knew that he wouldn't be able to do much of anything against Garrett, he bid a silent farewell to the people who mattered most in his life. Tying the medal around his neck, like he had done during the first portion of the exam, he prepared himself for the inevitable.

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Naruto couldn't believe what had just happened. He had just seen Sasuke sign his death certificate, and with no guarantee that it would be worth it. His mind raced over a mile a minute, trying to find some way through this whole scenario where it could all work out. But it was too difficult for him.

Then it struck him. The words Sasuke had said finally sunk in. The words echoed in his mind and lit a fire that he had felt before. It was so familiar, this feeling. It was like a heavy dampened blanket being draped over him, holding him down. This desperate feeling was what he had felt that day back then. When Hinata had been hurt and he feared she was dead, the emotion it brought was being felt now. And suddenly, the words of his father echoed through his head yet again, just like last time.

_'A shinobi's true potential is realized when they have the desire to protect somebody important to them. That is a shinobi's true power. So do you have people you are willing to protect?'_

Snapping back from his haze, Naruto suddenly became aware of a familiar pulse. Eyes clouding over in reminiscence, he knew that it could only be coming from one thing. Unzipping his jacket and removing the article of clothing from his person, he quickly sought the pouch hidden on the inside of the back portion. Why a jacket was designed with a pocket intended for use on the inside back, he would probably never know, but he did have a use for it. Reaching inside the pocket, he pulled out the object...the scroll his father gave him.

Focusing chakra into the scroll, he unlocked it and unfolded the parchment. After doing so, he saw all of his old techniques disappear from the material. While this troubled him at first, he quickly understood why a moment later when a new description appeared. He scanned it over for a few more moments, before having to back away from the "Arena of Fire" that Sasuke had created because of the temperature of the flames. Retreating back to a more comfortable distance away from the heat, Naruto again assaulted the parchment, reading and re-reading. After a few more moments of that, he closed his eyes in concentration.

Hinata, this entire time, was left dumbfounded and speechless. She couldn't understand why Sasuke had done what he did, but she knew better than to try and go through the flames to stop him. What was especially confusing was, if they weren't going to try to find a way to help him, then why were she and Naruto not taking the opportunity Sasuke had created and trying to get away to safety. She wasn't a coward, she just didn't understand the reasoning behind staying this close and doing nothing. She definitely didn't understand why Naruto chose now to look at this scroll of his, the timing just didn't seem to fit the situation.

But as was occurring more often than not, Naruto was once again going to surprise her. He opened his eyes and gave her a strong and determined look, one that spoke volumes about what was going to happen next. "Ano...Naruto-kun?"

"Hinata, I do not intend to leave behind Sasuke." His words were like music to her ears, because she felt that she would never be able to live with the guilt of abandoning their friend and teammate, even if it was Sasuke's request. But that left a strong question in her mind. Unless something significant had changed to Naruto, then what could they do? "As I said to him shortly ago. We live as a team...and if it happens to be, then we will die as a team." Hinata could tell that the gravity of the situation was so much heavier and darker now than it seemed moments ago. Something significant had changed, but what?

"Hai, I understand, but...ano, Naruto-kun, what do you suppose we should do?" She was not the type to question hope when it presented itself, but she had to know. What had just happened to the Naruto she had known before. They were essentially the same, but this one was so much stronger, aware, and calculative. The cobalt eyes, that resembled the carefree-ness of a sunny day, were hardened and sharpened and seemed to hold answers and experience. Was this really Naruto?

"I have a plan," and as he spoke, he refolded the scroll, "but I am going to need your help." He then motioned for her to follow him before he continued, "Here's my plan."

-----------------------------------------

To say that he was annoyed would be putting it mildly. Because he was far more than simply annoyed. He was agitated, irritated, and disappointed, as well as infuriated by what had just transpired.

First, he is spoken down to by the one genin who had been so cowardly that he hadn't even engaged him in active combat the last time, as if he were a mere child. Then he is told by that same boy that the blond was none other than the son of the revered man in all of Iwagakure. And while he couldn't give a shit about that place anymore, he still felt a sting to his pride that the man's son had managed to facilitate his downfall in their previous battle.

And then, when he decided to forego all of the little petty attempts to put the fear of the devil itself into these brats, the cowardly one steps up to the plate and develops a code of honor. To think that this child was going to try and hold him off to give those other brats a chance to get away was the last straw. No longer was he going to have his pride damaged by these whelps. No, he was going to make this one pay for his insolence and then he would hunt down and swiftly discipline the other two, before making a 'tactical' withdrawal from the village.

But first things first, he told himself. He had to turn this gaki into roadkill. Simple enough, he thought, so he got ready to strike. Taking careful note of walls of flames, he could easily escape them if he wanted to, but it would burn like hell. So instead of leaving this situation behind in favor of slowing the others' escape, he chose to quickly handle this over-confident Uchiha.

Now it was rare for Garrett to be able to admit when he was surprised by a foe's course of action, because did it seem to matter, but what his current opponent did really threw him for a loop. He began to mold chakra through an unfamiliar set of handseals. And then something very odd happened, something that had him baffled.

The heat that the surrounding fire produced was intense, but bearable to the experienced nuke-nin. So it was very noticeable when the heat that had been surrounding him suddenly seemed to disappear, but he was no fool. Garrett felt the strange molding of chakra occurring with his opponent and was stumped yet again. His foe, this young child, was proving why he was confident, on some level. For the heat that had been in the air and was still being radiated from the fire was being drawn to the boy and it was accumulating at a vast rate. How the boy's body could withstand it without combusting was something he couldn't understand at the time.

The air around Sasuke was becoming distorted by the gathered heat and his body took on a dark shade of red. And almost in the blink of an eye, the boy attacked him. He was not trying to dodge, evade, or anything of the sort in order to buy time. He was actually trying to fight. Garrett, at first, assumed that it was merely an issue of pride, since Sasuke was of a highly revered clan in this village. It wasn't until the after-effects of the attack were realized, that Garrett saw that his opponent would be more than worthy of his time spent.

_'He will be an amusing prey to crush,'_ he thought to himself, as he rubbed the tender area where he was just struck. The heat that came from that strike was like that of a branding iron. What was more, was that the power behind the blow was surprisingly great. And even more amusing was the speed at which he traveled, for in his wake was scorched and smoking land and even a trail of steam hung in the air from where he had traveled from to where he now stood.

Sasuke had swooped in so much faster than Garrett was expecting, struck him quickly, and then retreated...all in the span of two or three seconds. "Interesting...you have vastly increased your physical abilities by absorbing the heat. How you managed to do this though...I am actually curious?"

"In theory, it seems improbable. The walls of fire that surround us were created by my chakra-influenced ninjutsu that helped spark the ignition of the jutsu. As such, the fire has a residue of my chakra. While the jutsu I just recently used cannot pull on most regular heat, it is a lot easier to pull off when the fire producing the heat was created by my chakra." Sasuke then got into a ready stance, preparing to do another quick strike. "The jutsu pulled on the heat created by these flames and induced conversion of the heat into energy that the molecules of my body are using, as well as my muscles and tissues."

Garrett was left a bit dumbstruck; especially, when he realized that Sasuke had chosen the end of his explanation as the moment to strike. Once again he was hit while caught off guard by the furious and unpredictable speed of the boy and was left with another burning bruise. This one was even worse, on the point of being scalding.

It didn't take a genius to figure out that even if it was conversion that was allowing for the increase of physical ability through the absorption of heat, and it was being this effective, that it was also going to have damaging repercussions in the aftermath. More than likely, endorphins were being released at an astonishing rate to mask the damage that was probably being inflicted every second that this battle continued.

And yet, Sasuke didn't seem to care at all. And he didn't. He had made his peace with that fact. Even if he did manage to pull off the miracle and somehow win in this confrontation, he had made the choice to give his very all to make amends for what he did not do.

Squashing any last regrets he had, he made a mad dash for Garrett. What was very beneficial was that this man, while being excessively strong, did not have a good sense for when he was being affected by a genjutsu. Even though his speed was increased through the conversion process, it was not the sole reason he was being successful with his strikes. It was the careful use of his sharingan. By locking gazes with Garrett before he struck at him, he was able to disorient the man's perception of the attack in such a way that Garrett would not be aware enough to react to the blow before it occurred. By then, he would have moved away. But this time, with this approach, Sasuke intended to test his luck against Garrett.

Forcing himself to ignore the firing nerves that spasmed under the intense conditions his body was enduring, Sasuke connected with another searing blow to Garrett's abdomen. He deftly ducked under a powerful counter blow and, planting his hands on the ground and twisting his body in favor for his attack, he delivered a heel kick straight to the side of Garrett's head with his left foot. Sasuke could tell that the attack had Garrett reeling from the amount of force behind it, but when he tried to prepare a follow-through attack, he became aware of a startling new development.

He had been caught in Garrett's grasp.

Quickly and frantically, he tried to free himself but to no avail. He couldn't even twist and contort his body in a way that would give him a good shot at Garrett. It was to be expected that he would probably lose the fight, but not this soon.

It was with hopeless resignation that he awaited with grim anticipation for the oncoming assault he would have to endure. He was not left waiting long. With a flick of his wrist, Garrett released his hold on Sasuke's leg which left him hovering slightly in the air until he was introduced roughly to the ground via a vicious blow to his back. The blow had his back arching from the force, which did not benefit Sasuke on his inevitable collision with the ground. His solar plexus and lower ribs hit first, followed shortly by his legs and head.

The pain it caused was breath-taking, as in Sasuke had the wind knocked completely out of him, and he did not have the chance to possibly think about trying to catch his breath before the next attack hit. Since the blow was applied with such force, and the distance between the source of the attack and the ground was so short, when Sasuke landed, he bounced. And as he bounced off the ground, Garrett kicked him right in the ribs, sending him several yards away.

With calculating steps, Garrett walked towards Sasuke, but did so at an agonizing slow pace, like a snake stalking it's prey, all the while taking note of the fact that the surrounding fire had diminished in size and intensity quite considerably. "You should be proud of what you accomplished today. You probably managed to save your friends with this little stunt of yours. I am not so foolish that I would test my luck any more than I have, and to pursue them at this point could prove to be costly for my chances to leave this village-"

"Then let us help you with that! We'll come to you!" The familiar voice that shouted had Sasuke's already panicked state-of-mind going into high gear.

_'Baka, baka, baka...Why would you come back!? Why!?'_ His only hope was that he had imagined hearing that, but the reality sunk in quickly as he saw the forms of several Narutos descend from the sky. And while he had lost the sharingan during his brief, but painful, beating, he was positive that these were indeed the kage bunshins the blond was so fond of.

"Baka Naruto, I told you to leave." He paused before continuing, being completely caught up in the moment to steady his emotions, which were being fueled by the desperation and panic he was feeling. "So why haven't you left already? Why couldn't you just drop the moral code for once?" There was an unfamiliar stinging in his eyes, followed by another stinging sensation as his overheated skin felt something trickle down his face. He tried to swipe at it to stop it, since it was igniting his over-sensitive skin and nerves, but he couldn't compel his limbs to move at the moment. _'Kuso...my body has already over-heated.'_

One of the Narutos looked at him with what appeared to be pure concern over his condition but then re-solidified the serious look on it's face. "Gomen, Sasuke...but I won't leave you to fight alone."

In his mind, Sasuke had a thought running through his head that was pulling at him to focus on, and it was the first word that that Naruto had said. _'Sorry? Naruto doesn't say sorry...but then...if it is not him, then...Hinata? But why?'_ His thoughts were cut off when Garrett's amused laughter broke through the tense air. And while it pissed Sasuke off to no end, it also filled him with dread.

"Bwahahahaha...you are too much, you know that kid? I swear, I've seen shinobi come and go, but you have got to be the gutsiest one I've ever encountered." After his amused laughter lightened down, he continued. "But guts don't win battles. You should have been smart. If your partner was man enough to step forward and buy you some time to escape, you really should have. Now, when he dies, it will be in vain. Prepare yourself, because this is the last time you brats will mock me."

Stampeding forward with insane speed, Garrett closed in on one of the Narutos and punched it. As it disappeared in a puff of smoke, signifying that it was a kage bunshin, an odd crackling sound could be heard and Garrett's eyes became wide. With barely any time to react, an explosion erupted from where the bunshin had been struck. As the smoke cleared, a charred and bloodied hand was the result. His mind came to a quick conclusion.

There were seven in all to begin with, and he had just gotten rid of one. But if what he had heard was any indication, then that bunshin was tagged with an explosive note. While he had previously believed that six of the seven were false while one was real, if the strategy was to bombard him with bunshins that were tagged with explosive notes and use them as kamikaze bombers, then it was probable that all of them were copies. Faced with no other options, he had to resort to picking them off from a safer distance.

That liberty, however, was not afforded to him as the Narutos suddenly went on the offensive while screaming "DOGPILE!!!" With wide eyes, Garrett saw only one course of action, unless he wanted to take some serious damage. Flashing through a set of handseals, Garrett prepared for a jutsu while the Naruto's leaped towards him. There was a brief flash of green light, before a bright white light shot out from the point where the Narutos had converged on Garrett's location.

The resulting explosion was simply fantastic as dirt, mud, stone, and even splintered wood, was turned into falling debris. Sasuke had watched in amazement at the assault and was shocked by the cleverness and the effectiveness of this plan. And while he had been focusing on the final result, he had taken note that out of the corner of his eyes there was a Naruto that had run from the predicament and was now approaching him. The look of concern was again painted on it's face until it finally dropped the veil it was wearing.

With the henge dropped, Hinata was now kneeling next to Sasuke. "Gomen...How are your injuries, Sasuke-kun?"

Grimacing, he spoke as he tried to get up off the ground. "Not very good...but hopefully, I can survive." After getting into a sitting position, he watched as Hinata looked at him with wide eyes. Looking at his skin, he saw the reason for her shock. He was still red from the heat his body absorbed. "Yeah, that technique is sort of a last resort that I was taught..." He cut himself off as he noticed that through the cloud of smoke that had been kicked up from the explosion, a large...form of some kind was in the middle. After the smoke fully cleared, he could tell that it was a casing of stone. Slowly, the casing began to chip and crumble away, revealing in it's wake Garrett, who was apparently unscathed from the attack.

He couldn't believe how much his mindframe had changed. When the trick worked the first time and the explosive note had damaged Garrett's left hand, Sasuke actually felt hope climb back into his heart. But now, that hope was dashed in an instant. But where he expected to feel the same thing coming from Hinata, the same feeling of hopelessness and defeat he was feeling, instead there was an aura of confidence. Even her face didn't betray her. But that meant that there was a plan...and that this was somehow all anticipated? So what was the real plan?

"So...you were disguising as that brat all along, eh girl?" Clenching and unclenching his left hand, he continued, "So where is he, hmm? Or was he the only smart one and left you two?"

"I would never do such a thing." All eyes darted towards the source of the voice and saw Naruto, the real Naruto. "Even if the odds are stacked against us, I will not leave my teammates-no...my friends behind. Because people who do that are lower than trash."

"You really should have heeded your friend's advice earlier and dropped the moral code. If you had, you and your little girlfriend may have survived. But now-"

"Sorry, guess it's just a curse of mine. You see, I have this annoying tendency to do the right thing. I guess I got it from my father." He then sent a grin towards Sasuke.

"Valiant words, brat. Too bad this gallantry will all be wasted." Garrett was taken aback by the sudden bewildered look on Naruto's face.

"Wasted? You speak as though I am going to die today. Mark my words, I do not intend to die to you. I am going to take you down, you got that?" Sending a glare towards Garrett, he sent a silent message informing the man of the unflappable dedication to this cause.

This infuriated Garrett and broke the proverbial last straw. He was sick of being embarrassed, and no longer would it happen. With panther-like speed and grace, Garrett swiftly closed in on Naruto and jumped into the air, aiming a fist charged with chakra towards the boy. He saw the boy's shocked face, probably not comprehending how fast Garrett actually was and was shocked in place. The simultaneous desperate and panicked shouts from Naruto's comrades were music to his ears. In jubilation and glee, he slammed his fist onto the spot where Naruto was standing, effectively crushing him and ending this charade once and for all.

Or so he thought. What his fist impacted with was not flesh and bone, and he was not greeted with the pleasurable feel of blood soaking his hands. Instead, he could feel his hand impacting with wood, and the fragments were dug into his knuckles from a destroyed log. Cursing silently and trying to control his anger, he searched for the boy. "A damn kawarimi! Where the fuck are you, you little bastard? Quit hiding and face your inevitable fate!"

"I'm right behind you" came the voice of the blond. Whipping around, Garrett saw him and was about to come after him when he noticed something was amiss. _'What...the...'_ But before his mind could try to comprehend what was so off, he heard Naruto speak again. "And I don't believe in fate. Fate is for weaklings who aren't strong enough to walk their own path without fear of regrets." A slight pause ensued as Naruto made a few handseals very quickly. "Oh, and by the way, you fell right into my trap. ENSNARE!!!"

At the end of the statement, a sudden jolt went through Garrett's right arm as he could feel something latch onto it. Then, the same thing happened to his left arm, and the process repeated through each of his feet, and then around his waist. It was so hard to describe the sensation because he couldn't see what was causing it, but the only thing he could compare it to was the feeling of being tied down and restrained with rope...or wire.

As he struggled against the invisible restraints, he saw the blonde boy move. With a better look at the boy, he saw that Naruto looked to be holding on to something and was struggling against his actions. Putting two and two together, Garrett realized that it was Naruto's fault he was feeling this way.

Naruto, on the other hand, was surprised that the technique had worked. Remembering what he saw on the scroll, it showed him how to go about making a wire with one's own chakra. Naruto, at that time as he read the process, recalled reading something about chakra wires and how they were very helpful because the opponent could not see them and the wires, being composed of your own chakra, could be manipulated through intense chakra control, and even certain jutsus.

The technique had required one-handed seals. After performing the seals with his free hand, he had to force the chakra that was molded from that hand and surge it through to the other in order to make the wires detach from their previous anchor to their new, intended target. Now that Garrett was ensnared, Naruto was now faced with a new issue. In order to restrain the man, he had to have an anchor that could be used to weigh down Garrett. And if he didn't find one soon, Garrett could get free.

Looking around quickly, he saw that the best thing he could use was a tree. But the trunk was so thick that it would require a great amount of Naruto's remaining chakra in order to pull this off. But it would be worth it. After all, what was being a Chuunin, when you couldn't help your friends?

Dashing quickly to the tree, Naruto took the hand that was being used to hold the chakra wires and he forced it against the trunk. He heard Garrett shouting at him, something about this was all pointless. _'We'll see about that,'_ he thought to himself. Channeling chakra into the thick bark, he began to string the wires into the tree itself, wrapping it and binding it to the tree's very core. When he finally found the right spot in the tree, he surged a large amount of chakra to that spot, effectively linking the wires of his chakra, to the core of the tree. _'There, you son of a bitch. Now if you want to get loose, you have to take this tree with you, and by then, it will be too late.'_

Looking towards Hinata, Naruto nodded at her. "We may not have as much power as you, but you don't really need power when you have someone who knows hakke. Hinata, finish this up."

"Hai." With that, she activated her byakugan and settled her sight on Garrett's left breast, where the heart beat underneath layers of protective tissues. But with a focused and charged jyuuken bolt, she could penetrate all of that protective covering and decimate the man's most vital organ.

Feeling the chakra swell in her right palm, she forced back the last remnants of her conscience that she was feeling for possibly killing this man. Never before had she been forced to take the life of a foe. Even when they had encountered this man the first time, she only knocked out the henchmen. She was still wary about performing such an act. But if it came down to either taking the life of an individual...or that individual going free and possibly harming others...she would do what needed to be done.

As she charged towards her target, time seemed to slow for all those present.

Naruto quickly reflected over the moments before pulling this off. He had told Hinata to use a henge to disguise herself as him and blend in with the bunshins, until they performed their task. Meanwhile, he had performed a genjutsu to disguise his presence, that way it would be hard to sense him. That way he could set up the trap. He had planted kunai into the ground around the small area that he had chosen as his target trap area. Wrapping the free end of a wire through the loop hole of each one he waited for the right time to spring the trap on the foolish man who did not have enough sense, despite his overwhelming strength, to check if he was walking into a trap. And yet, he was still surprised by the fact that it had worked. The plan had been pulled off to perfection.

Sasuke was stupefied by the turn of events. Where he had been, only minutes ago, practically sacrificing his life for his comrades, now here he was being protected and saved. And while he did not want to admit it for fear of jinxing it, he was now hopeful of the possibility of living past this encounter. Despite nagging questions in the back of his mind on how Naruto pulled off something this complex, elaborate, and cunning, he accepted that it was happening and that he might survive thanks to his comrades...his friends...Hyuuga Hinata and Uzumaki Naruto.

-------------

And yet, while the three genin were dealing with the myraid of emotions and thoughts circulating through their minds, Garrett was staring at Hinata in disbelief. _'This is...how it is going to end? Slain...by a pack of brats? How...'_ And that was when a haunting presence made itself known to the man.

_**"How did I get stuck in such a pathetic vessel."**_ Whatever it was, it seemed to be so dissappointed while infuriated at the same time.

_"Who...are you?"_ asked Garrett, ever cautious to not provoke this force. It was so malevolent that it shook him to his core.

**_"I...am you. And you...are me."_** The being seemed to wait for the words to sink in before continuing. **_"Do you wish to keep fighting?"_**

_"Yes."_

**_"As much as you deserve to lose, I will not accept these circumstances from concluding in this manner. Do you want the power to exterminate them once and for all?"_**

Garrett thought for a brief moment before dumbly accepting. He did not want to die. _"Yes, I do."_

The presence, whatever it was, seemed to grin in response. Rather than seeing it, it was felt. **_"Good. Then what are you waiting for? DESTROY THEM!"_**

------------

A sudden pulse emitted from Garrett and a strange mark materialized on the man's skin. From between his shoulder blades on his back, a design seemed to come to life...and with it, a whole new threat.

Jerking his eyes back into reality, Garrett suddenly felt a well of power become available to him. He knew that it was always there but there was always something blocking him from reaching to it. But now, it was available, and he eagerly reached into it.

He relished in the feel of this power. It was so massive, so dark, so sinister, and so malevolent...and it was all his. His to use to his heart's desire. Whatever that fiend was, it had blessed him with access to this power, and for that Garrett would be eternally grateful. He was going to use this power right now. And crush these pathetic insects.

With a mighty roar, he released a wave of energy that seemed to encompass all of the forest, and even seemed to swallow all of Konoha.

----------

Arashi, who had been trying to hurry up with his paperwork so he could speak with his friend some more, was stopped dead in his tracks, so to speak. Craning his neck to look in the direction of an awesome powerful presence, he felt his breath hitch in his throat. For he knew where that power was being emitted from. The Forest of Death.

_'How did something of that much power get into the village?'_ Trying to rack his own brain for a plausible answer, and coming up short, he decided to confront that issue when he got to it. Right now, he had a duty to perform.

Reaching into one of his desk's drawers, he pulled out a radio that was used to communicate with various units' commanders. Finding Anko's frequency, he tried to get a hold of her. "Mitarashi Anko, this is Uzumaki Arashi. Report."

He waited for a moment, only receiving static as a reply, so he repeated the command. A few minutes afterwards, he was rewarded by a voice that seemed to crackle to life. "Hai, Hokage-sama. There's...disturbance...don't know how he got in..."

"Anko, you are breaking up. Repeat."

This time, her voice came through clearly. "There's a disturbance here in the forest, sir. I don't know how he got in but we will subdue him immediately."

"Who, Anko? Who?"

"The nukenin of Iwagakure that we all thought was dead, Garrett." The words sent a wave of dread through him for he had already reached the same conclusion that Anko's next words confirmed. "And he is targeting Yamato's Cell Seven genin."

"Very well...I want this man detained swiftly and efficiently...but if the situation calls for it, use any force deemed necessary. Take him down." The order was stern, no hint of remorse lying in it's tone. It was the voice of a trained shinobi, experienced with these situations.

He then tuned the communicator to a frequency so that all the elite squadron commanders could hear his orders simultaneously. "This is Uzumaki Arashi speaking. An intruder has managed to infiltrate our village. I want every single possible means of escape guarded and covered. He will not leave this village alive. ANBU squadrons A through D, report to the Forest of Death and follow Mitarashi Anko's instructions to intercept the target. Use any force necessary. That's an order. Out."

--------------

There was nothing taught that could prepare anyone this young into the shinobi career for situations like the one that opposed them right now. It was mind-boggling, frightening and horrifying. A power that they couldn't comprehend that was so unfathomably vast, massive and intense seemed to destroy the last bit of resolve they held.

Hinata had felt it first, as well as saw it. Her byakugan had picked up a strange pocket of power swallow the man's entire inner-coil chakra system. The smoky fog that his chakra had taken earlier was now magnified and looked to be nothing more than a foul presence. And with the suddenness of a thunder clap, the pocket of power surged with this malevolent chakra and it's force was felt through his skin. She halted her attack a couple of yards from the man and forced chakra into her feet to help anchor her to the ground.

Naruto, who was about to yell at her for suddenly stopping the attack, felt the reason why just milliseconds after comprehending that she stopped. A wave of power and malicious intent washed over him in such vast amounts that it was frightening. He looked at Garrett, who was the source of the power, and was struck dumb. _'He isn't a man...this...this can't be coming from a human...This is a demon.'_ He wanted to move, he needed to move, he was so desperate to leave that he was willing to do anything to do just that. His mind couldn't handle the strain that the killer intent that was being radiated from this man was doing to him. He wanted to give in to darkness, to collapse and not wake up until it was over. Hell, he actually had a passing thought of killing himself, just to escape this feeling.

Sasuke was having his own difficulty with handling this whole new development. The tide of the battle had again shifted, this time in sole favor of the opponent, and he knew that there was nothing they could do that could help give them the edge anymore. _'This...is this how it is going to end? It's not fair...it's not fair...please...somebody help us!!!'_

With sudden ease, Garrett ripped free from his restraints - splitting the tree in the process - and he lashed out at the closest target...Hinata. Before she could even react to his movement, he had already taken a step forward with his left foot, planted all his weight on that leg and stepped into a front thrust kick with his right foot. The entire bottom of the foot connected with Hinata's upper abdomen and solar plexus.

The force of the impact was so great that Hinata lost all control of her chakra, the byakugan deactivating and her feet no longer being anchored to the ground. She could feel her ribs shifting from the attack, as well as cartilage creak and groan, and her muscles spasmed so violently. As she sailed backwards from the blow, she struggled with trying to recover so she could stop moving and catching her breath, which was effectively knocked out of her.

As she hovered slightly off the ground and blazed backwards, she knew she wouldn't be able to recover in enough time, so she just hoped that whatever stopped her would not kill her upon impact. It was with shock that she did come to a stop, but not against a hard surface, like she had anticipated. Instead, she looked up and saw that Sasuke had managed to move fast enough to get in her path and used his body to help stop her momentum.

Sasuke, meanwhile, was struggling to ignore his screaming muscles, who were begging for him to relax. Fighting back tears that came to his eyes from the sheer agony his body was in, he had chosen to throw his body into her path. The collision she made against his body had made him see stars and he was still seeing them now, but right now, the protection of his friends came first. They had to escape. He looked for a possible avenue of escape, but his eyes settled upon something else.

Garrett was in the process of concentrating chakra into his right palm. Condensing it and twisting it, he looked at the boy who had helped the young girl and chose now to finish both of them off. Letting his tongue dart out, he licked his lips and the tops of his teeth in sadistic pleasure for the approaching destruction he was about to cause. "Diiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiie..." he drawled out in a slow, soft, psychotic whisper. He fired the mass of chakra at them.

Sasuke saw the man launch the burst of foul chakra at them. With the amount of chakra he could expel right now, a simple chakra burst like that could kill both of them. But before he could move out of the way, he saw several Narutos jump into the path of the attack and take it head on. An explosion ensued and the backlash of wind and power nearly knocked him off his feet with Hinata. He then saw Naruto running towards them. When he reached them, Sasuke could tell he was about to say something, but was cut off.

Garrett had appeared in striking distance of them in a flash. The man's movement wasn't even registered and before they could process what an appropriate course of action should be to escape this man's assault, he began. With only a second to act, Sasuke threw Hinata out of the way, and took the full brunt of Garrett's attack. A blow to the side of Sasuke's head from a sweeping, close-fisted, back hand sent him sailing away and roughly hitting the dirt.

And even before Naruto could react to these series of events, he was on the receiving end of an attack. In the blink of an eye, Naruto went from being relatively unharmed, to gasping for air, as a massive fist connected with his stomach, forcing all the air out of his lungs. Before recovering from the attack, a large palm was latched onto his head, and he was being forced into a nearby tree's trunk. The force caused an indent to form and Naruto could feel his vision clouding over. But it was Garrett's voice that rang through the haziness and kept him from blacking out.

"How does it feel, brat? To know that you are about to die? That all that bravado was for naught? You only succeeded in pissing me off, and now...with a clench of my hand...this ends. You end. Your miserable existence ends." He then chuckled menacingly and his eyes bored into Naruto's. Naruto saw, not a human, but a demon's eyes looking back at him. Like those of the diablo. He felt the grip on his face and head tighten slightly, and his bones began to creak and groan from the strain. His nose began to bleed. His ears began to bleed. He was about to die. "This is for the embarrassment you have caused me."

It was strange to him. Naruto always thought he would see a light at the end of a tunnel...or his life flash before his eyes...when this time in his life eventually came. Instead, he saw what he could only assume was the messenger of death...or something along those lines. It's thin, scaly body leaned back and seemed ready to launch. _'I had no idea the grim reaper was a...worm,'_ he thought to himself, feeling the effects of his injury.

Garrett, who could now see the thing to his side, but before he could react, was suddenly being attacked by a massive python that latched itself around his waist and sunk it's fangs into his face. Releasing the boy that was in his grasp, he began grasping for the head and prying it's vice-like grip off of his face. Garrett then ripped at it, effectively ripping the snake in half from the divide in it's mouth. Throwing the snake's carcass to the ground, he looked around for anything else and then came eye to eyes with two fierce looking black snakes, which had slithered onto his arms and were now digging their fangs into his shoulders. After a couple of tries, he managed to get them off and then squashed the heads of the snakes in his hands. Giving the area another look over, his gaze fell onto the image of a seductive woman.

"It's gonna really suck when that poison starts working, buddy," came the seductive voice of a woman. Her attire did not match the aura surrounding her. While she was dressed in what you would expect to see on a tramp, she was radiating murderous intent like a seasoned shinobi. Her purple hair assisted in giving off an unpredictable image. "Those were black mambas, one of the most poisonous snakes in known existence. Like I said, when that poison starts working, it's gonna really suck." She then shot him a grin that creeped him out.

And just as suddenly as she said that statement, a blur caught his attention slightly to his left, and he was struck by an incredible force that rippled through his chest and expanded in a matter of seconds. The force was so tremendous that he was knocked off his feet and landed roughly on his back. Looking up, he saw a man with long black hair, white wrapping over his forehead, a stern face, dark blue clothing, and blazing white eyes with veins throbbing from the sides. _'He's just like that bitch...what are they again?'_ Then he remembered and muttered it out loud while blood dribbled out of his mouth. "Hyuuga...You're a Hyuuga."

"Hai, and you have committed a heinous act against our heir. For that, I will make sure you will die by my hands right now."

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Meanwhile, now that considerable opposition to Garrett was available, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were safe for the time being. Izumo, Genma, and Kotetsu were now checking on each of the three devastated genin. All three men knew that they needed to receive treatment, but doing so would remove the genin from the exam. And since they had signed consent forms, they legally couldn't do it without raising suspicions from outside villages who might become angry from possible favorable treatment.

That's when they sensed a different chakra pattern. All three men turned towards it's direction to see a man dressed in a black bodysuit, dark blue body armor, and a sky blue cape walk towards them. Genma immediately snatched his senbon out of his mouth and readied it to throw at the man in a moment's notice. "State your name and your reason for being here," he demanded.

The person merely looked at him and gave him an unreadable look. "My name is Vander. I am the Kage representative of Kagegakure no Sato, and I am here to assist you, if you will accept my assistance."

"You know how to perform medical jutsus?" asked Kotetsu, a bit incredulous.

"I'm no Tsunade, but I have some skill." he responded, a bit of his own sarcasm being directed back towards the man. He asked that the men bring each one over to him so he could perform a quick assessment. They did so, and he kneeled down next to Sasuke, choosing to begin with him since his injuries seemed to be the most severe. He moved his hands, glowing with green chakra, over the boy's body, using the chakra to do an assessment. The information he gathered was not good. _'His body has overheated. His muscles are contracting and spasming at an alarming rate, his nerves are firing at a distressing level, and his entire musculature is more than likely suffering from hypertension and hypersensitivity. There are also a number of light rips and tears in muscles. Overall, he is a mess. He has to receive immediate treatment.'_

Turning his attention quickly to Naruto, he went through a quick assessment on his injuries. _'His injuries are less severe than the Uchiha's, but still require treatment. Bruising along the abdominal walls, on the lower sternum and the middle ribs, and minor swelling from a concussive blow to the back of his head.'_ He then looked back at the tree where the had been brought from and saw the indent in the bark. _'You sure have a hard head, Naruto'_ he thought to himself in finality as he chuckled lightly, despite the nature of the circumstances.

Lastly, he assessed Hinata's injuries, and found that her condition wasn't as severe as the boy's, but it was problematic. _'Slight fracturing of the middle ribs, bruising along the abdominal walls and the lower sternum. And...damn, the mediastinum is tightening around her lungs. She'll soon have an even more difficult time breathing.'_ Cursing silently again, he chose to treat her first since her condition was escalating.

Kneeling down completely and holding his hands over Hinata's abdomen, his hands began to glow an even brighter shade of green and then a gold light seemed to shine down onto the girl. After just a few moments of doing this, Vander finished and waited to see if his efforts yielded any fruit. When her eyes fluttered for a brief moment, he released a sigh of relief.

As they watched the man move over to Naruto, they had one thought running rampant in their minds: _'That was impressive.'_ It was assumed that by some skill, that this man would be able to do some light patching up. It was not expected for this amount of progress. Heck, a shinobi could properly function with this amount of provided relief.

As Naruto's voice sputtered into audibility, all thoughts seemed to grind to a halt. "H-Hey...I know...a little bit about...that medical jutsu stuff...you're doing...If you can heal me real quick...I'll help out with Hinata...while you help Sasuke out...please..." How Naruto had managed to get that out through the slight coughing fits and shortness of breath was a bit beyond Vander's grasp, but he chose to just accept it and leave it be.

He seemed to consider it before nodding in agreement. "Sure thing." He then settled himself down and began the process. "Without knowing how you know how to perform medical jutsus, I am going to trust that you know what you are doing, okay?" He waited for Naruto to nod before he continued with a slight grin on his face. "Here, this will give you something to work for." He then took his hands and separated them, laying one down on Naruto's head and the other on the boy's stomach. Taking a deep breath, Vander then expelled the breath and at the same time, sent a sudden surge of chakra into Naruto's body. But unlike the Hakke attacks that sent chakra into the body to damage the inner system, this chakra had medicinal properties that spilled into the most painful of areas on the boy's body.

After being stunned breathless by the sudden surge of chakra into his body, Naruto felt relief filter into the areas that were assaulted just moments ago. He could breath properly and his brain was no longer vibrating. Sitting up, he looked at the man in stunned disbelief. "That was amazing. So fast..." He knew his jaw was dropped but he couldn't bring himself to pull it up. It seemed appropriate to keep his jaw hanging.

"Yeah, well, I'm no novice at this kind of thing, kid. Here," he then handed Naruto a small pill, "medical jutsus take it out of you. If you hope to continue in the exam, you can't be exhausting your chakra supply and becoming a hindrance on your teammates." He then shot Naruto a sly smile before moving on to Sasuke.

Vander could tell with a quick scan that simply forcing in the chakra wasn't going to work in this boy's case. He was, simply put, a mess. He had to spread the medicinal chakra into thin layers and smooth them out. Beginning the tedious process, he flinched slightly at the sound of a rather powerful force bursting from the conflict between the enemy and Konoha's shinobi.

Looking over at Naruto, Vander smiled at seeing the young boy actually succeeding at performing a more complex version of a basic medical jutsu. It was meant to heal bruising on the superficial skin, but by adding more chakra and pinpointing a deeper layer underneath the dermis that you wanted to affect, you could heal bruising deeper into the muscles. He was quite impressed with the youth, but he should have expected such from the son of Arashi.

Turning his focus back solely to his current patient, Sasuke, he could tell that he was making progress. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless. And while he did expect for the boy to be back up by tomorrow with some assistance from his blond comrade and some steady dosage of medical chakra, he was surprised when Sasuke opened his eyes.

It seemed forever ironic that at that very moment a chill went through the air and all attention seemed to float towards an individual who had made his appearance. Vander saw this boy and shuddered. There was something radically different about this boy than the man who was currently in conflict with the assailant of the genin. This boy stopped briefly by the side of him and Sasuke. He then, after a few brief moments of intense silence, moved towards the confrontation.

"Wait..." The plea was spoken by Sasuke. "Nii-san..."

"Be quiet." The cold command was so brutal to Sasuke that it hurt more than the pain he had felt earlier. Even now, when he needed it most, he couldn't receive his elder brother's concern. "You must not speak in your condition."

While the cold voice may have seemed similar and not different in any way to his earlier command, Sasuke was able to see past the voice and recognize the words. They were words of concern, his brother held concern for him. That thought uplifted the young Uchiha's spirits, even on this most gruesome and cruel day.

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As Uchiha Itachi pressed forward after ensuring his little brother would be okay, he locked his gaze onto the man responsible for this chaos. He looked around, seeing the devastation, and could easily assess that the man was far and beyond an A-class threat. He was S-class to the very degree.

His eyes twisted and contorted, taking the form of the three-wheeled Sharingan. He approached the confrontation and saw that a Hyuuga was currently the main confrontation to the invader and wasn't making much progress in the ways of taking him down, despite showing signs of succeeding in doing damage. Walking past Anko, he noticed she gave him a look of dumbstruck awe, but he was used to it. The look, that is, but it was a result of something he wasn't used to.

A shinobi was not meant to let his or her emotions dictate their course of action in a battle. So why was it that he was so unnaturally infuriated? Walking up to Hyuuga Hizashi, Itachi noticed that the man did not give him berth to oppose Garrett.

"Uchiha-san, this will be my opponent, you do not need to get involved from this point."

Itachi was not in the mood to play games. "Hyuuga-san, I am not asking you. Step aside." He did not flinch, falter, or anything else of the sort when Hizashi spun and glared at him. He was even unaffected by the byakugan's blazing and piercing glow. However, after a few moments, he could tell that his gaze was making the Hyuuga rather uncomfortable. "I will repeat. Step aside, Hyuuga-san."

Hizashi felt his resolve disappear in a flash as his blood seemed to run cold. _'Those...eyes...They really do resemble a demon's.'_ Resigning to the inevitable, he turned towards the direction of Hinata and started to move towards her, speaking to Itachi as he passed him. "Destroy him, Uchiha-san."

Itachi's only form of confirmation to the Hyuuga's request was a quiet "hn" which was followed by Itachi focusing all his intent onto Garrett.

While Garrett was pissed at the changing circumstances - the intrusion on his fun, the hakke attack to his chest, the poison from those damn snakes, and a number of quick exchanges between him and the Hyuuga - he was nervous at the appearance of this newcomer. Something reeked about this boy. And when those eyes of his focused on him, Garrett almost felt every single pore in his body open. _'What the hell?'_ "So who the hell are you, huh? Another arrogant kid who thinks he can defeat me one-on-one eh?"

"There is no 'thinking' to this. And my name is unimportant as you will be defeated by my hands today."

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Once again, I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter. And I apologize that this chapter only continued to leave questions unanswered. Rest assured, I will start filling in the holes soon, so please be patient for just a little longer. Also, I want to inform you that this chapter should have gone on for a little longer for everything that I wanted to cover without leaving the chapter at a frustrating cliffhanger. But alas, this was the end result. And I do hope to have the next chapter up in a couple of weeks.

So...like it? Love it? Hate it? Kinda disappointed? Go ahead and let me know, if you wouldn't mind, but also try to leave a brief explanation of your view on the chapter. It helps me to see if I am forgetting something, leaving something crucial unexplained, etc.

And finally, the brief preview of the next chapter: The truth behind Garrett is revealed as the elite of Konoha grapple with the juggernaut. Meanwhile, a decision is made between Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke about their further participation in the exams. And what of the ninja from Kumo? What are their ambitions and what part does Cell Seven play in the plan? It all comes to a head in the next chapter: Tragic Triumph.


	17. Chapter 17

I'm back, ladies and gentlemen. I would like to start out by saying the following statements. For those who have enjoyed my story thus far, and have been eager for an update, I thank you for not sending hate-mail via e-mails and PMs. Your patience is a virtue you should be proud of. LOL Anyways, also, thank you for your kind words about the last chapter I updated several months back. They helped assist me during my darker, less inspired days, where I struggled with writer's block. On that note, don't you think it is amazing that there are all types of medications for numerous maladies, yet there is not one for the accursed Writer's Block Syndrome?

Now, as far as my absence is concerned, for those who might be interested, I had to put aside the development of this story in favor of focusing on the next leg of my life. The test date was looming on the near horizon, and I had yet to buckle down and meet the level of dedication and preparation one would need for such an exam. Thankfully, a study guide that I found on-line was my saving grace and I passed the exam this time around. So I no longer have to deal with the frustration of this exam ever again. However, as soon as I pass this exam, I get canned at my current job. Ironic, ne?

But enough of my personal life's issues. You are more interested with the story than the macabre details of my everyday goings-on. Needless to say, this chapter was a bitch to produce and edit to the standards I have set for myself. If it seems a little sloppier than my previous chapters, (which very well might be the case) then please try to ignore it. If not, then hopefully you can understand the strain I have been under. Also, for those who have checked my profile, you should have seen that I updated my profile a few weeks ago about how I said that this chapter was an experiment. I am experimenting with a writing style that I have seen some of my favorite authors on this website display. Such authors are S'TarKan and Thundereaper. And one more thing, before you become overall upset or possibly feel stronger emotions to how this chapter plays out, please check out the conclusive notes at the end of this chapter. That is all for now, so please enjoy the seventeenth chapter of Konoha's Legacy.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything in Naruto but the characters of my own design are mine.

Chapter Seventeen - A Tragic Triumph

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Garrett had seen many things in his life, and he had experienced many different fights. None of them had been worthy of his time. Not even his so-called expert Jounin sensei was a match for him. He had yet to find an equal to him.

And yet, on this day, he had nearly been defeated by kids. And despite that embarrassment, he was yet to squash them for their insolence. And just as his luck would hold out for him, given his day, he was being challenged by another kid. This one was probably only a few years older than the brats, but there was something off about him. He _stunk_.

It was strange. The boy reeked of something completely different than what he had faced from the kids, the tree hugger, the tramp, or the Hyuuga bastard. No, this one was not just radiating murderous intent, he was projecting it. The scary thing was that Garrett had not made eye contact with this teenager yet.

While he contemplated this strange feeling, he felt something within him grow. It was a thirst that he had not had to quench for such a long time. It was a hunger that had been sated for quite a while. It was a desire that he had put away into the recesses of his being for too long. And now, it begged release. It was spreading through him like wildfire. It made his entire body ache. He needed...to destroy.

He was finally facing a foe that could be worthy of his time and effort, and he hungered for chaos. He wanted to fight with such a burning passion that he could swear to feeling his skin burn. Looking at his challenger, he flexed his power, surging more of his chakra out across the vast space it currently occupied.

The laughter was of the darkest humour and amusement, a sick and depraved pleasure coming from this situation. "You, boy, wish to fight with me, eh? Very well, at least you got a back bone and came looking for a fight. But...like I said to that blond brat over there, guts don't mean shit. You are fighting with me, and I have never been killed before. And now...I'm stronger than I ever was." He then began cackling maniacally.

Managing to calm himself down, he took in the teenager's appearance...but was drawn to the eyes. As the head began to look up at him, the burning red gaze from those eyes was a haunting sight indeed. Garrett, once again, felt as though his pores opened all at once, and he involuntarily took a step back. _'What the hell is up with this guy. Those eyes...are freaky.'_

"Is something wrong, Garrett-san?" The question was more than enough to help Garrett break free from his inner-war. Resuming his former position, he readied for the upcoming battle.

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Hyuuga Hizashi was still feeling the effects of Itachi's sharingan-empowered gaze. His blood felt like it was ice in his veins. He had made a declaration to make Garrett pay for what the man did to Hinata, but he felt all of that resolve fall apart under the power of Itachi's eyes. The next best thing he could do, now that he felt his pride shattering inside himself, was check on the young heiress, and hope she would be okay.

As he approached, he was accompanied by Anko, who seemed comfortable enough to turn her back on their foe and Itachi. As they came upon the gathering where the genin were, he heard Anko speak. "I can't believe it. He was bit by two black mambas. Why is he not succumbing to the poison yet?" Her voice held disbelief and frustration, the same feelings he was sharing.

"I do not know, Mitarashi-san, but I believe it has to do with his sudden increase in power. That chakra of his is unnatural, to say the least." He heard her groan in acknowledgement before he settled his gaze upon Hinata, and the boy who was in the process of healing her. "So, Naruto-kun, are you making progress on Hinata-sama?"

He could see the boy's head jerk slightly at his voice, but he seemed to refuse giving in to the temptation of looking at the source of the voice. "Uh...um...yeah, I think she's doing a bit better than when I started, but I haven't done much. Vander-sama did most of the work already, I'm just patching up, to tell the truth."

Hizashi allowed his gaze to shift from Naruto and Hinata, to the man who was kneeling over Uchiha Sasuke and was hovering hands glowing with golden light over the boy's body. "So, I take it from Naruto's words that you are the one who helped my niece, correct?" When he saw the man nod, he pressed forth with his investigation. "And you might be?"

Without even looking up, the man spoke out the information as though he was a trained machine. "Vander. I am the Kage representative of Kagegakure no Sato."

"Hmm...Vander is also the name of the sensei to a team of genin who are from that village. Are you aware that the sensei's of genin teams are usually not permitted into this area unless your team has passed this portion? I am just curious as to why you are here."

Hizashi swore he heard a light chuckle come from this man before he spoke again. "I apologize if my actions seem rash. I just have faith." It was such a strong statement for the few words that were used. Hizashi actually felt an abundance of confidence in the man's voice.

"You are quite confident on your assumptions. I would assume that your confidence is only surpassed by your ability. How is the young boy doing?"

"I am almost finished, but he will need further assistance from Naruto. If they can get some distance away from here and closer to the tower before the darkest of night falls upon them and set up camp, then he should be able to work on Uchiha-san for a good bit before getting some rest."

Anko was the next to speak, as the weight of the words spoken by Vander sunk in. "Wait, wait, hold on a sec. Are you actually assuming that they are going to be able to still compete in the exam?"

"It is their choice, I feel we should let them choose. I'm just confident that I know what their answer is going to be," was the resonse from Vander.

Hizashi noted that confidence in the man's voice was there again, and he felt that the man was speaking of a well-known truth. As he looked upon Sasuke's skin, he saw that the crimson shade it had been when he first arrived was no longer there. It was now a soft red hue that you would see from someone who was afflicted with a sunburn. _'This man wields impressive talent. Sasuke went from looking ready to combust, to looking ready to peel. Just a little bit longer and even that should be gone, at this rate. And Hinata-sama seems to be recovering at a moderate pace as well.'_ He chose this moment to check with Hinata, herself. "Hinata-sama, how are you feeling?"

The young girl looked up to him, and with increased amusement, he watched as her expression shifted from a slight daze, to one of more awareness, to one of relief, to one of mortified embarrassment. She then shifted her gaze to Naruto, who was still occupied with his hand hovering over her chest. "N-N-N-Naruto-kun...um...I-I'm feeling o-okay now. Y-Y-You can stop."

Naruto, who had just recognized that she was speaking to him, could tell how flustered she was. Stopping the flow of chakra to his hands, he moved them away from her and looked right at her, demanding her attention with his gaze. When she complied, she forced herself to fight down her previous embarrassment and focused solely on him. "Hinata-chan, are your injuries really okay? I can continue, no problem. I don't want you to push yourself if you are still in pain."

She shook her head before muttering an 'Arigatou,' to which he beamed at her, professing that it was his pleasure. Again, she fought down her embarrassment and turned her attention to her uncle, who had cleared his throat during this time, trying to get her attention. "Gomen, Ojisan. I am doing much better."

"That is good to hear Hinata-sama. I feared the worst, but it appears you were in good hands." Throwing a calculative gaze towards Vander again, it seemed he was trying to gain a better understanding of the man just from looking at him.

Vander, who could feel the eyes of almost everyone there settle upon him, was starting to get more than a little irritated. "No offense to your decision-making skills or anything but...shouldn't you all be helping your friend?" he asked them before focusing his attention solely back to Sasuke, "Just a little bit more and you should be out of the red." Sasuke just nodded his head in affirmation before lying still again.

"Yeah, well, Itachi ain't any slouch. I'll admit this man, Garrett or whatever, is a bad ass, but Itachi really is one of this village's best. It's in our best interest to just stay out of his way at the moment." After finishing her statement, she bent down to be somewhat level with the sitting Naruto and Hinata. "Now, how are your injuries, you two?"

Seeing a softer side from the rough and dangerous kunoichi, Naruto took a steady breath and exhaled, allowing himself to calm down ever so slightly. Focusing his chakra to flow to the two points that were most painful, and that Vander had dealt with, he could tell that they were healed moderately well. And thankfully, his chakra supply was not diminished. Thanks to the pill he was given by Vander. "Mine are good, I only feel some discomfort from my stomach, and my ears are still ringing, but overall I'm good."

Hinata, herself, was grateful that she was feeling better for the most part. She had feared that the blow she suffered was going to cripple her again. But thanks to Vander and Naruto, her pain was reduced to some minor pain. "I am also feeling some discomfort in my abdomen, but it is not severe at all."

Smiling at them with a genuine smile, she regarded them with a sort of reverence. _'These kids are something else. They managed to hold off that man for that amount of time without help.'_ "Well, good. And you, Kage, how is Sasuke's status?"

Her term of regarding him made the man's eyebrows twitch involuntarily. "You know, I do have a name. Vander. And as for Sasuke, his condition is good. He's gonna be tender, more than a little sore, and exhausted. But he can perform, if that was your next question. He just needs a good night's rest." He then stopped the flow of chakra to Sasuke and helped the boy sit up.

Sasuke winced at the stinging sensation that still went through his body as he moved. He asked about it and received an explanation. "I was only able to do so much. I had to focus most of my efforts on the musculature that had been ripped and torn from the strain you placed upon them. That technique you used, I know about it. And it is very dangerous to use. You were lucky to have received immediate treatment right here on scene. Otherwise, there was a chance your body could have combusted." Sasuke swallowed a lump in his throat that had gathered from listening to the explanation. "You're going to be tender for a while, so don't overdo anything, got that? And get a good night's sleep and you should be back to moderate condition. Understand?"

Sasuke nodded, but then thought about something else. He quickly asked the question that was bugging him, directing it towards Anko for clarification. "Wait a minute, can we really continue? Nothing is going to change with the exam?"

"As long as the threat does not endanger the overall safety of everyone still participating in the exam, and we deal with the imminent threat at hand, then the exam will continue. And you still have a couple of days to reach the tower. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if Hokage-sama didn't extend the time frame by one more day for security measures." Her words, while they should have been cause for celebration, were not received with such enthusiasm. It wasn't that the three of them didn't want to continue, but they were drained.

Anko's words had also struck a chord in Hizashi. "So you are saying that they shouldn't be withdrawn so their care can be overseen by our professionals?"

"No, I am saying that they should make that choice themselves." She then looked at them, giving them a serious gaze before addressing them. "What is your decision?"

Sasuke looked at Naruto and Hinata, who were both looking at him. He nodded to them. He then watched as Naruto and Hinata looked at each other and asked the same silent question they had asked him. Both responded to each other with careful nods of their heads. Seeing that, he released a breath he had no idea he was holding and looked at them with relief. They were going to move forward.

"As I thought," spoke Vander, who was currently reaching into a pouch that was situated on the back of his left thigh. "Here, eat these. It will help restore your stamina," he instructed them, holding out in his hand three small red pills - one for each of them. They each took one and began to eat it.

"If you are quite done, I think it's time for you kids to get going. From this point, you are on your own," she told them, hoping they would understand. They nodded in affirmation before looking at each other. They nodded to each other once again before taking off towards the tower.

After Hizashi watched with a mixture of pride and apprehension as Hinata took off with her teammates, he decided to check on the battle that was still ensuing, and was nearly knocked off his feet by a sudden maelstrom of chakra clashing on the battlefield.

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Meanwhile, while that was occurring, the battle between Itachi and Garrett had begun. Garrett was the one who went on the offensive this time. Though his hackles were still risen from Itachi's eyes, he was confident in the power he possessed. How could he not be confident?

Holding up a hand with the palm facing Itachi, he poured in a massive amount of chakra towards it, intending to blast the teenager into oblivion. Smiling, which bared his jagged teeth, he launched the attack at Itachi and waited for the resulting impact. As the chakra blast dashed towards Garrett's target, he barely registered the teen's quick shift to avoid the attack and the amazing speed that helped the boy get within striking distance in the blink of an eye.

He swung for the spot where he anticipated the boy would land by the time his fist reached that point. Instead, it went straight through and he was suddenly sporting a painful cut on the right side of his torso. He swung again towards the boy, who had somehow managed to get to that position without being noticed. He let out a frustrated growl when his fist again connected with nothing but air, and then grunted in pain as he felt another wound cut itself into his skin. This time, the wound was inflicted on his back. Spinning and twirling his arms so that he would strike anything in the way, he noticed his attack once again hit nothing but air. But this time, his eyes could see the image of Itachi darting his hand out to strike.

Itachi, who had been enjoying the upper hand, was surprised to see Garrett swing at him, but this time it was before he managed to land an attack. He had to back away for fear of being struck by the man. It wasn't that he feared taking a blow or two in a battle, in fact that came with the territory; especially when you encountered enemies and opponents who were high-level threats. But with Garrett's amazing physical power, coupled with the surging chakra that was being poured into every attack, Itachi surmised that he needed to avoid being struck at all costs, if he could avoid it.

Stopping on a dime, he deftly ducked under the attack and made an attempt to attack him again. It was with increased surprise that his attack was blocked this time. Moving very swiftly, he retreated out of close-combat quarters. Once he was a safe distance away, he calculated all that had occurred so far and weighed the information provided.

First off, when he had made eye contact with Garrett before he attacked with the chakra blast, Garrett had fallen prey to the illusionary effects of the sharingan. With his perception lowered, he was unable to detect that Itachi was merely using Bunshin no Jutsu in order to create an illusion that he was everywhere, and yet nowhere. However, as the assault progressed, Garrett was becoming more and more aware of his actions. The last exchange where Itachi's attack was blocked was proof. The unfortunate conclusion was that while Garrett lacked great perception, he was quickly adapting. At this rate, the sharingan would not effect him at all and it would come down to a battle of power, and Itachi still had some doubts of whether or not he could best Garrett in a war of jutsus.

It was slightly annoying that at that moment, the image of his younger brother decided to intrude on his thoughts. Sasuke had always been annoying before, always asking for Itachi to train with him, to teach him, to help him. But it was when a chilling order came to him, that Itachi changed. That night, Itachi's eyes, which had been clouded with visions of grandeur and prestige, were finally opened to the truth and Itachi swore to himself that he would not let something along those lines happen again. He resolved to treat Sasuke more as a brother, and as a result, he had come to accept the young boy and his...annoying tendencies. So while the boy's image was unwelcome at the present moment, it proved to provide a spark in the normally stoic Uchiha.

He took off the black jacket he always seemed to wear which sported the Uchiha's fan. This revealed that he was fully geared in his ANBU armor, a short-sleeve dark blue shirt and a fishnet mesh shirt for additional protection on his arms. Gripping the kunai, he thought about the attacks he had already made, and seeing that the wounds he was inflicting were not doing anything to hinder his foe so far, he chose to discard it. But he would still make good use of it.

He effortlessly repositioned the kunai in his grip so that he could easily throw the weapon as a projectile. Swinging his arm in an arc, he released the kunai and dashed towards Garrett following the flight of his weapon. He then made a few handseals and called upon his attack. _"Kunai kage bunshin no jutsu!"_ Suddenly there were 12 kunai traveling towards Garrett instead of the original. As they were upon Garrett, Itachi saw that the man had just finished his own set of handseals and readied for whatever was used.

A wall of earth materialized, rising from the ground and stopping the kunai as they all bounced off the wall. That was when he heard Garrett call out his next move. "_Kake Danmaku_!" The wall in front of Garrett began to crack and then it shattered. But Itachi was no fool. He could feel the chakra being poured into the wall after it's creation, so he could easily tell that there was much more to the technique.

As he watched the fragmented shards of earth propelling towards him, he went through a small number of handseals before he pointed a lone finger out towards Garrett and the approaching projectiles. A crackling could be heard coming from the end of the small appendage as electricity roared to life and created a barrier of lightning that caused the rock fragments to dissentigrate upon contact with the barrier.

The look of bewilderment, frustration, and fear expressed on Garrett's face at the same time would forever be ingrained into Itachi's memory. "I take it you did not know of your element of choice's weakness to the element of lightning?" When Garrett did nothing but bare his teeth, which were grit in frustration, as a response, Itachi chuckled lightly, earning him another delicious reaction from Garrett. The more Itachi could frustrate Garrett, the easier it would be to instigate the man into making a stupid maneuver which he could take quick advantage of. "Your chakra is attuned more to Earth. As long as I use Lightning-based jutsus, your arsenal becomes meaningless. Now do you see the difference in your level to mine?"

"I...will...not...be...made into...a spectacle...for your amusement...When I get my hands on you, I-" but he never got to finish, for at that very moment, his mind seemed capable of only registering the pain that had erupted from his stomach. Looking down, he saw smoke (or is it steam?) coming from a hole in his abdomen. However, no blood ran through it. He then looked up and saw a wisp of smoke coming from the finger that was still pointing at him. _'Did he...do that just now? I didn't even see him do it...god that hurts so much...why does it hurt so much?'_

"Your words are nothing but the ramblings of a fool. You are nothing more than an overgrown child who has never been punished for his misbehaviors. Our entire fight up to this point was merely a test." Before he continued, he took the moment to savor the look of surprise on the man's face. "First, I needed to see if physical attacks would work on you. Both of my tests proved the negative, so I had only one option: to fight you in a war of jutsu. But you quickly gave away your strength, which has now proven to be your weakness. You see, this entire time, I have been waiting for you to slip, and you did."

That same crackling sound became audible again as another small bolt of lightning shot out from Itachi's finger and tore right through the right collarbone, out through the right shoulder blade, and, as an additional agonizing whammy, pierced through the spine of the scapula. Involuntarily, a gutteral howl of pain escaped from Garrett as the pain was so perplexingly severe, he almost wished for blissful unconsciousness to take him. But that was when he remembered the feeling of power he had when he was destroying the kids. And this one was only a few years older. Why should anything be different? _'Element be damned, I'm more powerful than him. I'll kill him...I'll kill him and everybody else here...'_

Itachi, who had become bored with peppering the now helpless and defeated man with searing bolts of electricity, turned to the strongest weapons in his arsenal. Fire was the element that was closely associated with power, and he found it fitting that the Uchiha clan would choose to have the family seek development in fire techniques. A few handseals later, he was ready to launch his technique. "_Katon: Karyuu Endan_."

A stream of flame seemingly was belched from Itachi's mouth and flew with an incredible speed towards the target. However, the glow and haze from the flames obstructed his view of Garrett, so he had no idea of what was occurring. But he could feel through the flames, since they were filled with his chakra, that they were not striking the target. He cut off the flow and saw that the flames were converging to one point - Garrett's extended right hand.

The flames were spinning with incredible velocity and he watched how Garrett seemed to be testing the limits of control he seemed to hold over the flames. That was when he heard the man speak, and it struck a chord in him. "You know, that blonde gaki did the same exact thing to my colleague back on that day. So here's a little bit of retribution. Take this back." Cocking his arm back, he threw the spinning mass of flames as if it were a ball, and he the pitcher.

Jumping out of the way, Itachi glanced back to see that the target was now the group left behind him. He was relieved to see the Hyuuga get in the way of the attack and make a shield of some kind by spinning his body. They had avoided one situation, only to run into a new one.

Itachi could see the look of horror on Anko's face as she looked at the man Itachi was engaged in combat with, but he didn't understand. So when he decided to investigate, and turned around to look back at his opponent, his trained face betrayed him as surprise was evident, however brief it was.

While Itachi had seen a seal glow brightly from the man's back and understood what it meant, he had not expected a turn of events such as this. This was a new revelation, something he was not privy to, and it frustrated him to not know the answers he needed.

Garrett's body looked to be bathed in black ink. Dark marks lined his body wherever eyes could see skin. Even more confusing was that these marks seemed to be alive on the man's skin as they continued to move and move, before settling down and remaining still. That was when Itachi felt the spike and everything began shift.

Anyone could swear to feeling a sudden drop in the temperature there, but it was the sudden whimpering of the purple-haired woman that grabbed Itachi's attention the most, for the words she managed to speak brought an answer to one of Itachi's questions, but revealed to him the drastic change in the circumstances surrounding this battle.

"A cursed seal..." she mumbled, almost inaudibly, but Itachi's senses were very acute, so he could tell what she had said. His eyes, however, were disbelieving of the blur that sped past him and barreled towards Garrett.

The blur was actually Anko who had enough forward momentum that when she leaped to the air to perform a double-legged kick to Garrett's chest, upon connection the tattooed man stumbled backwards. Her voice continued to echo across the area, giving away signs that this was more of a personal matter. "You bastard! You are in cahoots with him aren't you? Speak up, or I'll force the information out of you!"

Garrett slowly rubbed the area she had just collided with, and looked at her with a curious expression. "I have no idea what you are referring to, little girl, but you really shouldn't nose into the affairs of people who you clearly have no business interfering with."

"Just answer the question," spat Anko. "Where did you receive that mark? Who gave it you?" Her voice quivered with rage, and Itachi knew that if the answer did not meet her approval, she would do something rash. He chose to play the situation safely, but with a lighter grace of going about it. He knew he was faster than Anko, so he could intercept her, should she try to take on Garrett by herself again.

But his curiosity was peaked by her search for answers. He knew of the trauma she had endured at one point in her life. It had taken the Sandaime to close off the cursed seal she had been _blessed_ with. So if what she was seeking might be the answer he expected, then this situation would take a drastic shift in priorities. If Garrett's response was what Itachi now hoped wasn't the truth, then the priority from taking down Garrett would have to be put aside for detaining the man in order to gain knowledge and understanding.

"Where? I won't tell you. But who? He went by Orochimaru."

Everyone now became very tense. It was not a well-kept secret of the traitorous hebi-sannin and his grudge with the village he turned his back on. While this could have meant so many things, and brought up so many questions, Itachi looked past that to the situation now at hand. Choosing his words carefully, he spoke with the same practiced calm he always seemed to hold.

"Very well. Then it appears you will not die today." He felt Anko's anger now directed at him, as well as the surprised looks being transmitted from eyes of the others. "Instead, you will be captured by any means necessary so we can extract any knowledge you have of Orochimaru." Locking gazes with Garrett, he could tell that it wouldn't be so easy to accomplish this task as it was a few minutes ago, but it was a task he was up to. "I will ask this question only once, so pay close attention. Surrender now, without any further conflict, and be forthcoming with the information, and I will recommend leniency in your sentence. Failure to do so will result in extreme force becoming necessary, and I will use it. What would you do?"

Itachi knew the answer, and while he did want the battle to continue to inflict more punishment on Garrett, he also did not like the thought of facing an awakened Jinchurriki with a "cursed seal" feeding him additional power. He did not have any previous knowledge to back up that claim, but from what he could feel and what his Sharingan eyes were telling him, then that seal was feeding denser, thicker, more corrupt chakra to Garrett. But his thoughts were diverging from their original line of thought. His attention was brought back to the matter of receiving a reply to the ultimatum placed before Garrett.

The tattooed man snorted in annoyance before speaking. "It's not as though I am particularly loyal to him - hell, I'm not loyal to anybody. But I sure as hell won't surrender. You want what I know so bad, then you'll have to work for it. But if you don't plan to kill me, then I assure you I will not lose."

The end of that statement was quickly followed by movement. As Garrett closed in on Anko with furious speed, he started to move to intercept. However, Anko had the matter well under control. She jumped over Garrett and managed to wrap a wire around his neck, digging her feet into the ground as she landed. Placing the wire in her mouth and biting down, she ran through several handseals that were familiar to Itachi. It would be a Katon jutsu that was used, and he had an idea of which one specifically.

The roar of flames was such a sudden contrast to the grunts and groans that were being emitted from exertion that it made others jump; however, Itachi was expecting the roar, for it was a very familiar sound. It symbolized the pride of fire, the very nature of power. He watched as the flames, shaped into a dragon, traveled at such a speed that Itachi knew Garrett didn't have time to prepare any kind of defensive measure.

As the dragon of fire collided with the skull of Garrett, Itachi wondered if perhaps that might have worked. The technique was designed to mimic the force and suddenness of a lightning strike, so the force at which it strikes the opponent is tremendous. If the power put into the technique, and the temperature of the flames, was potent enough, then it could be possible that the technique could have been a knock-out shot.

But such luck would not be granted them on this day. Not when a hand wraps around the wire that Anko is still holding between her teeth and pulls at it, forcing Anko to let go unless she wanted an amateur orthodontic procedure done. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the results of the jutsu were pretty devastating, as the skin seemed to have been melted off, but as quickly as the blight on the man's face had been seen, it was just as quickly being fixed.

"You'll have to do better than that, ignorant wench." spat Garrett, as he barreled towards her again. She managed to dodge and Itachi knew he would have to step in, but it was hard to choose that moment when one has not worked often with another. His interference could jeopardize her life if he screwed up, and he did not particularly like the thought of having her blood on his hands. But he couldn't just sit around and not do something, because then she would die, that was the truth.

The amusing thing about the situation was that Anko seemed capable of fending him off, only because of Garrett's seeming obsession with not thinking about his actions. He reminded Itachi...of a bull, using his mighty strength to try and remove any obstacles in his path. And eventually, the bull would hit it's mark.

He slowly walked towards the beast of a man with a cold look etched on his face. As he did so, images flashed in his mind. Images of his father and mother. Words of praise from clan elders. Images of his friend, Shisui. And lastly, the image of his brother lying on the ground in pain.

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_!"

The call of the attack already caught the attention of most of the ninja there, but it was the size of the fireball that was alarming. If not for Anko's quick reflexes, she might not have avoided the attack before falling to it as a victim. She, fortunately, did avoid the attack, and now only Garrett was left in the massive inferno's path.

The collision was spectacular. A bright flash followed and a deafening boom bounced around in the eardrums of everyone present, as well as incredible heat and force from the explosion. Add to that, a plume of smoke that went taller than the tallest tree, and it made a convincing case that Itachi had detonated a bomb, instead of unloading a potent Katon jutsu.

As the smoke began to settle and disperse, a smoking body could be seen standing in a guarded position. Both arms were crossed in front of him, acting as a shield for his face. The skin looked to be badly burned and his clothing was smoldering. Overall, Itachi believed he had done a number on Garrett.

So it was a shock when Garrett began to crumble away and turned into a pile of dirt and pebbles. He began questioning whether or not he had his Sharingan still activated, but that was not possible. He could see and sense the chakra of Garrett as he crumbled to dirt. But what he didn't realize was that Garrett's chakra was beginning to flood the ground he stood upon.

_'Underground...What's his next move?'_ he began asking himself. Chakra was forming and molding in a large area, not really what he was expecting from someone hiding underground. He would expect a sneak attack, but this was not the makings of a sneak attack. This was a sign of a much larger attack. Itachi would remain wary for he could not afford to be careless. One wrong movement, and it was over.

He barely moved in time to avoid a javelin from impaling him. Looking over the offending object with a bit more scrutiny, he came to a realization that it was not made of the normal forged steel. No, this was made of mineralized earth. The implications were dawning on him as he thought of this new development. The javelin had come from the ground that was being influenced by the chakra Garrett was molding into it, which meant that Garrett had an almost limitless arsenal of weaponry at his disposal.

One almost grazed him to his left side, so he stepped to the right side to avoid, only to find himself having to twist his body into going backwards. Another javelin tried to turn Itachi into schishcabob from behind, so he perfomed a back flip and effortlessly kicked the projectile out of the air. That's when the rain fell.

But it wasn't water that was raining on the battlefield. It was the dozens and dozens of javelins all hailing towards Itachi. He quickly set himself into motion. Taking off at a full sprint, he attempted to leave the hazardous rain in his dust, moving with such a speed that he was leaving afterimages in his place. Doing a lightning fast set of seals, he started peppering the onslaught of projectiles with small fireballs until he had to jump out of the way of a few stray javelins that were meant to intercept him at a point in his path. But jumping into the air managed to get him out of the way.

This course of action may have spared Itachi from the lances of earth, but landed him in a new predicament. Because now that he was airborne, he was now careening towards Garrett, who had chosen that very moment to pop out of the ground and into Itachi's projected landing spot. In the blink of an eye, Garrett had his fist cocked back and exploded all his rage into Itachi.

Connecting in a full, head-on collision, Itachi should have either still hit the ground despite the force of Garrett's punch, or rocketed back from the attack and landed somewhere else roughly. But neither happened to Itachi. Instead, the boy exploded in a furious blaze that wrapped around Garrett's arm and then his entire body like a serpent slithering across the skin. The fire burned so badly but his skin wasn't burning. But this bit of information didn't seem to be registering. The only thing that registered was that the serpentine blaze began to shift.

Now it resembled a dragon, the body and face being hazy from the dancing flames, but it was dragon-esque in appearance. The snout opened and a demonic roar bellowed from the great creature and snapped it's jaw, closing it's mouth on Garrett, engulfing him in excruciating heat, the teeth piercing him and digging into his flesh, the pain being almost unbearable.

Meanwhile, Itachi was viewing from a few yards away what his genjutsu was doing to his opponent and preparing an attack that he hoped would finish this fight. He had not tried this attack before, but he knew that if he could recall the details of when he last saw it, it would be easy to pull off. The last he had seen the technique was when Kakashi had done it back on the bridge when he tried to use it on Momochi Zabuza and instead impaled the ever-loyal young boy Haku. He remembered seeing through the sharingan how the chakra was pulled and converted to the element of choice. By altering the handseals a slight bit, and pulling on his elemental preference, the technqiue could be mimicked to Itachi's benefit.

He performed the altered seals and then thrust his left hand down at the ground, the right hand gripping the left arm at mid-forearm. Slowly but surely, the left hand began to glow red before steaming and then smoking. The next step was igniting the chakra and then molding it to a shape of his choice. Running through the fight, knowing what Garrett's element preference was, Itachi's decision became made at that very moment. If Garrett was like a rock, then the best way to destroy a rock was to grind it to dust.

The chakra exploded with ferocity and his entire forearm became engulfed in the fiery chakra. The chakra then began to spin like a drill and Itachi looked to his opponent. The genjutsu was still active and still affecting Garrett, so the attack shouldn't be noticed until it was too late. He dashed towards his target, intending to drive his arm straight through the man's stomach.

---------------------

As the dragon opened it's massive jaw, revealing it's malevolent fangs that were intending to clamp down on him, he involuntarily shuddered in fear. The eyes of the dragon looked just like the brat's eyes and it was making him quiver. As the snout of the creature enveloped him in an excruciating inferno, the teeth digging into his skin and scorching him, he found himself doing something he never thought he would have to do in his entire life.

He began seeing images that should have been closed to him, images that were better off forgotten. But here he was, being forced to watch them. He was seeing his life flash before his eyes.

He remembered how alone he had felt when everyone turned their backs on him. No one had wanted him, for a reason he did not know. As he grew and lived through the torment and pain inflicted upon him by his fellow villagers, he had an epiphany. He would shelter the pain away, and act like nothing happened, and then maybe they would stop. But it didn't help, nothing worked. So he took frustrations out the only way he knew how. He trained.

When he was finally accepted into Iwagakure's Ninja Academy, he graduated in his first year and was placed onto a genin team and forced to work for the village that he was slowly learning to despise. But he held on through everything, and eventually came to appreciate the life of a shinobi.

Until...that day.

On that day, his team was assigned to rid a small village of a horde of bandits that had slowly taken over. But upon entering the town, Garrett came face to face with reality. They were ambushed, but not by bandits. They were shinobi...from Iwa. They all swarmed him, trying to overwhelm him and they would have succeeded unless he received help. When he looked to his teammates and his sensei for help, they had not helped him. They turned their backs on him and assisted the others in trying to kill him.

He was beaten down, bleeding all over, and spat on as calls of "demon", "monster", and "devil" were emitted from the shinobi. With his own village having turned it's back on him, Garrett was left feeling odd.

He felt broken, and yet...free. As he reflected upon the words they called him, he remembered his line that night that changed his life forever. _'You want a devil, then you'll get a devil.' _Everything else that night was a blur, except for when he woke up. What he awoke to was amazing. The entire village had been leveled and he lay in a huge crater. After he had pulled himself to his feet, Garrett had taken a stray kunai and scratched his hitai-ite and left his life behind.

The council of Iwagakure, as well as the Tsuchikage himself, had obviously chosen not to disclose any information about their attempt to take down _'The Devil of Iwa'_. Instead, they opted for fabrication of events, the council having sentenced him, and he escaping from an entire shinobi village. That story, while hard to believe, assisted their hopes of him being killed. For he was placed into the Bingo Book with an S-class criminal level.

His visions now ceasing, he looked at the eyes of the dragon, the eyes that looked as though they belonged to a demon. And then, the flames died out, and the image of the teenager he was supposed to be engaged in combat with drove a fiery arm through him.

Steadily, his vision clouded, and he felt a heavy blanket draping over his mind. _'Looks like...those bastards get what they want.'_ Some would say that this was karma for his crimes, but they would be the ones who did not know of the truth. He was damned and betrayed for being the guinea pig - the experiment - that they made him. This boy had unknowingly done their dirty work and silenced the only person who could dispute the word of Iwa's council.

When his vision began clearing, he began asking himself questions. _'Why is it so dark? Is this hell? I thought I was dead?'_ He was lying on the ground, a hole in his stomach, but still alive. That's when he heard the snort of disgust. Drifting his line of sight towards the sound, he saw a faint outline of iron bars. _'A prison?'_

**"Yes, Xozen Garrett. Jinchurriki of Iwagakure."** The booming voice was tremendous.

_"So I take it you are..._it. _You are what is inside of me."_ Despite the fact that he could tell this was not the real world, he still felt the fatigue and pain from his wounds, so when he spoke his voice was very laboured.

**"I am the true demon of Iwagakure, or more precisely, of the country that pathetic village resides in. And you are pathetic. Are you telling me that you don't care that you are going to die? What of your desire to bring that village to it's knees? What of your desire to crush the Tsuchikage, the man who sentenced you to your life as a prison, only to attempt to discard you like trash?"**

_"I have not forgotten. I can never forget. I will never forgive. And I will not forfeit."_ spoke Garrett as he started to move, despite his injuries.

**"Then stand...and UNLEASH HELL!!!"** it bellowed as it's massive frame rammed against it's cage.

---------------------------

Itachi could tell that he would have to work on the technique some, but his goal was achieved. His arm had drilled through Garrett's body with relative ease. He would need to work on the closing of the technique to give it an extra punch so it would do more than severely wound, but devastate the target.

After sensing a drastic decrease from Garrett's chakra signature, he began to remove his hand. Upon extraction, he realized that his chakra should have been burning with more than enough temperature to cauterize the wound. But at the way the attack was spinning, he had caused more grinding damage than clean damage. Another thing he would have to work on when he had the chance to practice and perfect it.

Cautiously, he turned away from the man, believing Garrett to be dead on his feet. When he heard a scuffling of dirt, he turned his head to see that Garrett had taken a shaky step towards him. "You are very resilient, but that trait will not help you now. You are defeated, any further resistance will prove to be futile. You can not hope to defeat me. An Uchiha can not be felled by the likes of you. Such hopes are frivolous."

"You..." breathed out Garrett, his voice laboured and winded. "You are wrong...Uchiha..." He then smirked and locked gazes with him. "I am not defeated...I won't be defeated...not until...I exact...my revenge."

"Your petty feud with the three genin you targeted will never be resolved." spoke Itachi in response, disappointed that Garrett would hold such a grudge against Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata, that he would force himself to keep fighting, just to try and get revenge.

"Those children are the least of my worries...They will pay...but my hatred is not wasted on runts like them...You could never understand...for you are blind...just like everyone else. But I am living proof...of the truth...Let me show you the truth. The truth behind the Devil of Iwagakure!" By the end of his winded tirade, he had managed to recuperate some of his strength, for his words held much power behind all the anger and spite.

He could feel his hackles rising, and that was a rare occurance for Itachi. Not many things upset him, even fewer things made him tremble. So why was it that he could practically feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end, a cold shiver go down his entire body, and goosebumps rising on his skin from the shiver?

The questions only increased in number upon seeing a change occur to the physical make-up of Garrett. The tattoo markings that littered his body began to expand, until there were no more individual marks. Instead of the markings was a body completely bathed in metallic ashen crimson. His hair had become totally white and grew, the thin bands thickening some, giving him a more feral look. And it did not get any better as through gritted teeth, a demonic jowl possessed even longer canines.

But of all the changes, it was the arms that had taken on the greatest change. His right arm had become massive in bulk, elongated another good foot or two, and the hand appeared to be a strong claw. The left arm was complex in appearance. The left hand was thin, with thin, pointy fingers. From there, it seemed like the arm was one big attachment. All along the forearm was a dark gray bony bracer with four odd projections that all started from the middle of the forearm, began growing towards the elbow, then stopped and aimed towards the wrist. From the elbow to the shoulder of that arm was nothing but increased bulk and mass, but it gave off an impression that the entire left arm was forged.

This drastic change left Itachi speechless. Because now that he was over the surprise of witnessing this process occur, he could now feel the spike of chakra, or was it chakra? He had seen the seal on the man's back, the kind of seal meant to imprison something. Could it be that this wasn't chakra, but youki? His thoughtful meanderings were made brief as Garrett unleashed a feral roar.

"What's wrong, Uchiha? Where's your bravado now? Why don't you mock facts? Don't tell me you are afraid of a little truth? Or do you still not believe?" Garrett then crouched, laying his much larger and longer right arm on the ground for balance. "Allow me to enlighten you."

One of the strongest attributes of his sharingan was it's ability to assist him in deciphering another's body movements and predicting their actions. It was a simple feat for him, but he was especially thankful for that attribute now. His opponent was moving with a ferocity and wild nature that would be almost unpredictable if he did not possess such acute eyesight.

He could see the flinch from the legs as Garrett kicked off, and the tension in the right arm as a great portion of the man's weight bared upon it. As the tension increased, so did the anticipation for the next move, which Itachi assumed would be to use the strength in the mutated arm to propel his body into the air. Sure enough, that was what occurred. The problem was the speed.

He barely had the time to move out of the proximity of Garrett's bulking form colliding to the ground. Itachi's mind tried to force out the issue of applying logic to the fight from this point on. Logic would say that increased bulk, size, and mass would make the body heavier, and therefore slow down the opposition. Instead, the opposite was the more accurate observation and countered all theories of physics and logic.

As Garrett crashed onto where Itachi was standing just a moment ago, he saw that something was odd about how the man landed. The arm was extended, the brutal claw digging into the ground and seemingly gripping it. Able to see the tension in the muscles, Itachi once again knew what was about to happen. The problem with having the ability to predict your opponents move is possessing the ability to do something about it. So as Garrett pivoted on the overgrown arm and swung with his legs, Itachi knew that he couldn't outrun the attack. Every sign was pointing to the conclusion that no matter where he ran, he was going to get caught.

But as the foot sailed towards Itachi, he merely disappeared in a puff of smoke, further angering Garrett. This was hardly a concern for Itachi. It only proved the man's ignorance. Losing control and allowing one's emotions to influence one's decisions in a battle of this level leads to defeat. And that was what Itachi thought he had accomplished: the defeat of Garrett.

Using the shunshin technique, he had gained a considerable advantage as far as positioning was concerned, and at this moment, Itachi believed that was all that mattered. His opponent was indeed the stronger between them at this moment, so he knew he would have to fight smart and wait to capitalize on his opponent's mistakes when he made them, and he had made a grave mistake. Now behind Garrett with kunai in hand, Itachi targeted the base of the skull where the brain stem resided. No matter how much regenerative properties his foe possessed, it was hard to do anything when your brain was impaled. In a motion that was made easy with practice, Itachi drove the kunai forward to imbed it in his opponent's skull...

Only for the attack to fail miserably. The kunai didn't even penetrate. Instead, it struck the base of the skull, causing a spark to fly, which was accompanied by a familiar sound of metal on stone and the loss of his kunai as it flew out of his hands from the impact. His shock over this turn of events was abruptly cut off as his mind seemed to scream at him to pay attention, but his eyes could only see a counterattack.

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When Garrett had decided to walk away from his past and only come back when he had the power to bring Iwa to it's knees, he had also chosen to leave with only his first name. Letting go of the former life meant letting go of one's past, so Garrett had always been known as just his first name and a title of some kind. He had many a nickname - Stonebear, Stonebull, Devil of Iwa, Demon of Earth - but he had always remembered his true name so he could shout it atop the ruined remains of the village he damned several years ago.

Xozen Garrett.

He had never doubted that he would accomplish his goal, but he also had never fathomed that he could possess the power necessary at this point in time. Despite theories that brawny figures lack brains, he was not foolish enough to consider achieving such a goal without proper thought and planning. He would need considerable power, maybe a slew of followers that he could coerce into fighting with him, an arsenal of destructive weaponry - either jutsus or mechanical, and experience. He was only 21, so he felt he would need at least twenty more years to reach the level he needed to be at to accomplish his goal.

But now, here he was, in a fight against a foe like no other, one of his strongest opponents, indeed, and he felt invincible. Even though the changes to his body were drastic and difficult to comprehend at first, he was quickly becoming adjusted to it. His entire time spent searching for the power he yearned to hold, he trained diligently to increase his abilities and he therefore became stronger. But it always seemed to never get him anywhere. The increase would only offset something else he was deficient of. But now, he felt like he was being re-assembled, and this time, parts were being put into place.

He was capable of feeling the vast wealth of power he could grasp and achieve, but unlike earlier in his fight against the brats, this time he felt there was more control. It wasn't so violently troublesome to maintain. Now it was being tamed and he, therefore, could settle down and focus more on his actions than his control.

The speed of his own movements caught his own self by surprise. He had not expected to have the ability to comprehend so much faster the actions he wished to undertake. And as the fight was continuing to drag on, he was becoming more and more adjusted to his body.

One other surprise, which he had not even noticed until the Uchiha's attempted assassination strike, was that his skin had roughened, to the point of being like that of iron. When he heard the metal of the teen's kunai scrape against what he now understood was his hardened skin, it was hard to contain his amusement at the surprised and shocked look of the kid. Seeing that expression on the face of the proud Uchiha where he had been the one to experience those feelings earlier in their battle was a bitter-sweet reminder of the shifting of tides throughout this entire battle. He had adjusted to every different tactic an opponent had used on him today and overcome the would-be challengers. The only thing he had yet to do was smite the elder Hyuuga bastard and this teenage Uchiha. But they would receive their come-uppance soon.

For the Uchiha, that time was now. With his guard dropped - very briefly, he reminded himself, thinking back to the nin's phenomenal speed - he chose to strike. He had no idea why he had chosen this style for attacking, but it seemed to be more instinctive than anything. He crouched down, like a lion about to pounce, and lunged for the boy, swinging his enlarged right arm like a cat trying to scratch at something, and slashing the teen with tremendous force.

While Garrett had been a hardened individual, training his mind for the day his brutal rampage would begin, he found himself wanting to hold back here. Whether it was he felt such a respect for this boy for being a worthy adversary or as thanks to the Uchiha for pushing him to reach this level of power, he was unsure of. He actually found that both were partially correct. It was both respect and thanks. So he didn't want to kill him, just damage the ego and humble him a bit.

But the Uchiha merely phased out of sight, avoiding the attack. After landing on the ground, Garrett looked for his prey, only to see him a few feet away, in a guarded, defensive posture. "Damn you," he whispered through clenched teeth. "Fight me like a man, you COWARD!!!" he roared, rearing back his large hand and crashing it into the ground in frustration.

What he didn't count on was the amount of chakra he had applied into the frustration-relieving blow. He had, inadvertently, used one of his own techniques. The lack of actual training he had been subjected to had led to Garrett teaching himself techniques through the use of sheer power and chakra control. One such technique were the blasts of chakra he had taught himself to fire from his hands. Another, was this technique.

_Soudai wazawai shuuha_. A technique he had created specifically for use against his own country and village. With the many mountainous regions and unstable landscape, this move was perfect. It sent raw, forceful chakra through his fist to attack the stability of the landscape. In essence, it attacked fault lines, creating earthquakes. But with the amount he had applied this time, the supposed stable land that he walked on was, without any doubts, going to undergo unwanted shifts.

Steadily, a rumbling issued forth from the ground, rising steadily in volume. The land was quaking, lightly at first, but gaining ferocity with every passing moment. In a moment of insight, he knew this was either going to end perfectly for him and defeat his opponents, or it would end badly and help his foes' assent towards eventual victory. It wasn't these foes that worried him, it was the possibility of the village's leader coming out from hiding that sparked a bit of worry into him.

The voice of the _Shadow man_ rose over the sound of the tremoring earth. "Everyone, take to the air, quick!"

He did not know why he felt compelled to say it, but Garrett found his lips moving and voice saying what he had just said to himself. "It won't help." And true to his words, the ground began cracking and fracturing, spreading like a spider's web from the point where his fist struck the ground. The tremoring increased dramatically, as did the volume of the rumbling, before a wicked force blasted across the fractured land, distorting the air in it's wake.

It was such a massive force that Garrett had nearly been knocked off his feet from the force. But since he knew it was coming, he had managed to brace for the impact, so to speak. He couldn't see clearly, due to the haze in the air from steam, dust, and chakra, but he could see trees being uprooted, or split in half, or splintered to wooden shards. Patches of ground were caving in, or spiking, from the malevolent force of the technique. In summation, chaos had been unleashed.

Time passed steadily as the aftershocks finally died down, becoming merely light tremors that wouldn't even make a toddler lose their balance. Dust still hung in the air, but it was settling, and through the haze was a sight that left Garrett in awe and satisfaction. Destruction littered the area. He wanted to drink it all up, to flourish in it like he had done so many times before, but he was interrupted.

"RASENGAN!!!"

Turning to the voice, he barely had time to register the flash of yellow before being forced backwards against his own will. Looking down at his chest, he saw a swirling sphere of blue chakra, and had a feeling of deja vu. Looking up, he could see the traces of a redish-orange coat and blond hair. _'No fucking way'_ he thought to himself, not believing that he was reliving his embarrassment.

But his rock-like skin had helped dull the technique's effectiveness. Where the sphere seemed to be based on drilling and grinding, it was incapable of drilling through his exterior. So when the attack finally fizzled out of existence, he took in a better look at the gaki, and realized his mistake in identity.

The individual opposing him did have a wild mop of blond hair, but this person was older. His jacket was reddish-orange but only on the bottom of the coat, in the design of flames. The rest of the jacket was white and opened down the middle, showing a jounin vest and a black shirt. His clothing was complete with long black pants and shinobi sandals. But...if you put the gaki from earlier right in front of him...and aged him a little...then...

"Well...this is an honor...You must be the fabled _Hiraishin no Konoha_." The moment the last syllable left his mouth, he felt several things happen to his body. The first thing was his mouth as it suddenly became dry. Next were his nerves, which seemed to be numb. Then his entire body stiffened. His eyes wouldn't blink. He even felt himself sweating, but not from his activities. It was from...this man.

And it all started the moment he looked in the man's eyes. They were glowering with a rage full of malevolence the likes of which he had never seen. The killing intent felt oppressive and it took all of his control just to stay on his feet. It was like he was being suffocated from the mind out. Unbeknownst to him, he collapsed to his hands and knees, panting and trying to get a hold of himself. "Wh...What the hell...are you doing to me..."

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"I've felt it all. How the tides have changed throughout this battle. Unfortunately, I couldn't leave to intercept you until a few minutes ago, but it was a few minutes too late. But this charade has gone on long enough. I'm ending it, and you, now. You, who have sullied this village with your foul presence. I will make sure you receive your just come-upping."

Arashi struggled to hold on and maintain his composure. He was so desperate to just up and crush this parasite into oblivion. But he had a duty to fulfill, so as Hokage, he needed to perform his duties with rational actions.

The only way he had stepped outside of normal boundaries was his use of killer intent. He had intended to project just enough to strike some fear into the man and numb his awareness. But he had almost lost control the moment he heard the man speak. The voice was not that of a seasoned veteran, who had tried to sneak into Konoha to slay his targets and then leave. It was the voice of a foolish braggart who could not fathom the repercussions to his actions. That understanding dawned on Arashi, and he just lost it. It was as though a child was laughing in his face, and that level of disrespect couldn't be tolerated. So he projected a much larger amount of killing intent, which would reduce even his student to his knees and plead for forgiveness.

He had not come alone, either. At this very moment, Jiraiya was using _Yomi Numa_ to make a small, shallow swamp that would hold Garrett and make him, overall, vulnerable to an assault. Kakashi, meanwhile, was surveying the damage done. A quick glance helped show that damage to the landscape was not the only damage suffered from the last assault of this man. There were injuries, collateral damage from the forceful blast that rocked the forest just a few moments ago.

"As much as your crimes should be more than enough motive to just execute you right now, I will not do such a thing." His words apparently surprised both Jiraiya and Kakashi, who gave him a surprised and offended look that screamed _'Are you serious?'_ "Instead, you will be detained. But don't worry, you won't be bored. You will be entertained by Morino Ibiki, our resident interrogator, until he retrieves all that he needs from you." And that was the justification for his reasoning. This man should not have been able to infiltrate the village. It should've been even more impossible to infiltrate the boundary of the forest. That meant something else contributed to his easy infiltration. So through the interrogation Garrett would undergo with Ibiki, Arashi hoped for the truth to be revealed, and the infiltrator's benefactor's identity to be discovered.

"I'm sorry, but I can't let that happen, Yondaime." came the voice of an individual Arashi did not recognize.

As he started turning to it, since the voice came from behind him, he caught out of the corner of his eyes the image of a person dressed in a black cloak with a high collar, obscuring sight of his face, and several designs that looked like clouds colored in red. The clothing was familiar, dreadfully familiar, but what was even more perplexing, and somewhat frightening, was that Arashi had not sensed this person's presence. In fact, he still could not sense his presence.

It could've been a trick for intimidation purposes for this person to conceal his chakra. But it also could've been a ploy to instigate a fight and then catch the opponent off guard. He didn't like to be held in the dark and was furious over his own hesitations. These people were invading his village, as though they were mocking him, and he had a hard time accepting the fact he needed to be calm and sure in this situation.

"Who are you, and what is your business in my village?" he questioned with cold, biting words that helped convey the attitude he wished to display. He wanted this man to understand that failure to cooperate would lead to conflict - conflict that Arashi was almost positive this person wanted to avoid.

"Possessive and defensive, aren't we, Hokage-sama?" came the cool, indifferent reply that seemed familiar, yet unfamiliar. "I am here to take this vessel off your hands. I desire no conflicts, I have not come for one."

"Strange choice of words you have selected. You infiltrate this village and make your appearance before me, and arguably the best shinobi this village has accessible."

"Perhaps, but I figured you for a rational man."

Now this man was trying to be sociable, and it was grating on his nerves. His last bits and pieces of resolve dissolved when the man continued on his trek towards Xozen Garrett. "I couldn't care less how you figured me to be, but I do know this." In an instant, he had his engraved kunai in hand, ready for an offensive assault. "That cloak you wear marks you as one of the infamous criminals belonging to a group known as Akatsuki. I will not let two criminals escape, this day." Gripping his kunai so tightly that his knuckles were white, he made himself ready to assault the still unknown enemy.

Picking up the approach of something from behind him, he turned and almost effortlessly blocked the thrown kunai. His mind quickly processed that apparently this man didn't come alone, but what he didn't expect to see was an eerie and haunting sight to the Yellow Flash. Charging towards him was his own pupil, Hatake Kakashi, right hand crackling with the power of the _Raikiri_. "Ka...Kakashi?"

He barely managed to evade full contact but could not evade a _glancing_ blow. Disbelief played a key factor in his lackadaisical dodge, as he could find no logical explanation for this sudden turn of events. He wanted to believe that his eyes were deceiving him, that it was a trick of his own mind, or of his opponent's. But there was no denying the pain across his midsection and right kidney side of his body. If he had not respected the power of his student's technique, then this would be the event that swayed his mind. Looking at Kakashi, he felt himself lose his balance and fall to one knee, right arm hugging tightly to his right side, where a greater amount of the pain was focused. He didn't even notice the amount of blood he was losing, or if he did he didn't show he cared. He only cared for answers. "What...are you doing...Kakashi? Answer me!" he managed to gasp out, having trouble gaining back his wind.

"Isn't it amazing, Yondaime, what a little bit of hypnosis can do to one's mind? I told you I did not come here seeking confrontation, but that is not to say that I would come here without means to defend myself either. Once I leave, you will have your precious pupil back." The cloaked figure was standing in front of Garrett and reached out to the man. With his fore and middle fingers, he touched the forehead of the transformed jinchurriki. Almost instantaneous was the reaction. The eyes of Garrett became wide, then glazed over, as he passed out. With that occurrance, the transformation seemed to pull away from his body, the disfigurements and odd coloration being sucked away and dragged towards a point on his back. Arashi could only assume that was where the seal was.

From the small swampland came another figure, this one disturbing in appearance. His hair was green, black on one side of his skin, and white on the other side. Even more curious was the odd venus fly-trap appearance of the two leafy protrusions from his sides. His black cloak with red clouds was wrapped around the odd foliage and helped complete the disturbing visage.

Arashi was very tense and wary of the newcomers, and of Kakashi's shift in behavior, but it didn't stop his mind from weighing all of the scenarios against one another. As he did this, something in his mind clicked, and he remembered that he did recognize the second cloaked person. His name was Zetsu, if Arashi's memory served correctly from the information provided in the Bingo Book.

Hearing footsteps coming from behind him, he did his best to try and feel out the chakra signature. It was familiar, which sparked a protective and defensive sensation inside him, as he tried to speak to the approaching figure. "Vander...don't get involved...stay back!"

"I'm sorry, Hokage-sama, but I cannot do such a thing. Your wounds may be fatal and I won't watch as a fatal injury goes untended." When the statement ended, he saw his friend kneel beside him. But instead of immediately trying to heal him, he gave Arashi an apologetic look that asked for forgiveness. He had no idea why he looked so apologetic, but then realization dawned on him.

A sudden jerk of movement caught his attention as his _hypnotized_ pupil charged at them both. When the jounin suddenly stopped, and was pulled underneath the ground, did Arashi understand that a plan was in motion. Jiraiya popped out of the ground, looking as ready for a battle as Arashi had seen in years.

Zetsu was the first to speak of the two Akatsuki members after the change in circumstances. "Do you not value the life of your Kage, Sannin? Should he not be receiving medical attention instead of you making fruitless attempts upon our detention?"

"Shut up." came the response from Vander. "I know the Yondaime enough to know he would not want for you two to get away with infiltrating the village he governs and assaulting fellow nin. He'd rather die than allow that to happen."

"Heh heh heh...and what do you intend to do about it, medic?" was the witty and sarcastic reply from Zetsu.

"Simple. Defeat you." After the words were spoken, Jiraiya was the first to act, throwing a handfull of shuriken at Zetsu and his mysterious partner. Performing one two-handed seal, Jiraiya called out "_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_." Where there were four, there were now twenty.

Zetsu acted next, flashing through an unidentifiable number of seals before spitting out a mouthful of mud. The mud splattered upon the ground and from that pile of mud, a wall of earth rose. The shuriken all collided with the wall, but at the exact point of contact, Jiraiya finished his attack. Making a small number of handseals, he spoke the title of his next move. "_Shuriken Bakuya_!" All twenty shuriken exploded, destroying the wall and scattering muddy debris.

"We have wished for minimal conflict in this venture, Yondaime. Call off your dogs, or we will be forced to defend ourselves with any means necessary." Arashi would have thought it to be a plea for a truce, but with the calm demeanor of Zetsu's partner's voice, he had his doubts that it was a plea. It was a warning.

When Vander took off, dashing at the two, hands glowing blue with the _Shôsen_ jutsu, he briefly wondered if Vander knew this. If he did, then he didn't care. When he got within a couple yards, Zetsu's arms flew out, being converted into vines and digging into the ground close to the other. Now in striking distance, Vander was forced to halt as a wall of shrubbery launched up from the ground, acting as a wall separating the two sides.

Vander may have been forced to stop, but it did not pose such an issue for too long. "Move," commanded Jiraiya, getting said desired result. With Vander out of the way, the Sannin breathed an intense volume of flames that ignited the shrubbery. The burning remnants cascaded to the ground, revealing, once again, the intended targets of this battle. This time, Garrett was out of the ground and seemed to be supported, or carried, by Zetsu.

A blur caught Arashi's attention and he strained to keep up with it and see what it was. It just so happened to be Itachi. _'Good. He wasn't one of the injured from the first encounter.'_ That relieved him a great deal. What shocked him were the words that came from the sprinting teen's mouth. "Katon: _Yo'ouri!_"

The sound of crackling, unlike electricity arcing and popping, floated about the battlefield, as if it were of crackling embers. A haze was being emitted from the Uchiha's right hand, the coloring distorted in a hazy mixture of dark and light red, with a coal-ish hue adding to the coloration, giving a final impression of a smoking blaze surrounding the appendage.

At the moment right before Arashi predicted the impact zone to be, he heard Zetsu's ally utter "Troublesome child." The very next moment, Itachi struck, bringing his arm forward in a stabbing motion.

But his attack had missed it's mark. But missing it's mark was really an unfair summation of Itachi's attack. He didn't _miss_ more than his opponent dodged..._somehow_. This thought was brought to the forefront of mental questioning because the man didn't even look as if he dodged. He was there one moment, and then he wasn't there the next.

The mysterious nin was currently only inches to his own right from his original position, but that small shift in position was enough to evade a direct attack and set up a counter-measure against Itachi, much to Arashi's chagrin. Once again, the unknown nin spoke and broke the tense air.

"Your eyes are powerful, but you rely on them too much. For, despite how strong your eyes may be," spoke the man calmly, with a hint of arrogance - and pausing for dramatic overtones, "mine are stronger." Increasing his powerful grip on the arm that held the _Yo'ouri_ moments ago with the left hand, the unknown shinobi outstretched his right hand, extending only his index finger, and touching it to Itachi's chest - specifically over the area of the heart.

One of Arashi's greatest fears that still haunted his thoughts every now and then was the fear that he would bear witness to someone close to him being hurt and injured, right in front of him, and he incapable of preventing it. So when a beam of malignant light pierced through Itachi's chest, right where the heart should be, Arashi came face to face with one of his greatest fears. _'Why am I doing nothing while they risk everything?! I won't stand for it anymore!'_

"Instead of further attempts at confrontation, you should consider getting your injured medical assistance." After speaking that line in his cold, calculating voice, the cloaked shinobi turned his head and looked at Zetsu before nodding to the odd-looking shinobi. A few seconds later, they merely vanished, phased out of sight as though they were never there to begin with.

Their departure sparked many actions. Kakashi managed to escape from his prison in the ground before he began looking around bewildered. When his and Arashi's gaze met, silent words spoke the loudest. Kakashi looked apologetic, and Arashi responded with a forgiving nod. When Vander walked over to him, Arashi just waved his friend off. "My injuries are not as serious as his," he said, referring to the fallen Uchiha. "Give him assistance."

Vander looked to be reluctant, but agreed and moved over to Itachi, leaving Arashi to simmer on the events of the day. Not one, not two, but three people had infiltrated the village. One, Xozen Garrett, tried to kill his son, the Hyuuga heir, and the Uchiha heir, all in one fell swoop, and the lack of awareness of the breach into the village almost resulted in the worst possible scenario. And yet, they had avoided one catastrophe with some mild to moderate injuries, but it was no joyous triumph. It was a sombre victory and a bitter-sweet defeat.

He was losing his equilibrium, his vision was becoming cloudy, and his body was unnaturally cold. He knew he was still injured, but his body was numb for some reason. He should be questioning these things and why they were occurring, but he couldn't bring himself to do so at the time. He only wanted to sleep. Slowly, as though he was in slow-motion, Arashi fell to the ground, barely even feeling the impact with the dirt. He could hear voices calling out, crying out, but they seemed so distant he could barely register them. At this point, it was annoying to try and force himself to concentrate. He just wanted to sleep. As his eyes closed, he could make out faint calls of "Hokage-sama," "He's going into shock," and "Help me or they both will die."

Everything else tuned out as his eyes closed.

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Go ahead and signal for the lynch mobs already. No wait...don't do that. Before any of you readers feel ready to unleash furious calls for my head on a stake, please note that I have said at the beginning of this chapter to pay attention to this notation.

In order to avoid discouraging a number of readers from my story, I have taken measures to ensure that the chapters in this story are not too large. So while I end chapters in horrible cliffhangers, I also, hopefully, do not overdo the size. This is yet another example. So if you would, go ahead and comment on this chapter and how you all thought of this writing style I experimented with. Was it a successful venture? Should I abandon this style of writing? And when you feel ready, feel free to continue to the next chapter.

As I have begun to use Japanese wording in my story for techniques, I will provide a translation list from this point on.

_Kunai kage bunshin no jutsu - Kunai Shadow Duplication technique_: Kind of self explanatory.

_Kake Danmaku - Fragment Barrage_: A technique used by Garrett that applies an excessive feed of chakra into a stone surface in order to splinter it, creating a number of stone missiles.

_Katon: Karyuu Endan - Fire Release: Fire Dragon Flame Missile_: Kind of self-explanatory.

_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu - Fire Release: Great Fireball technique_: Self explanatory

_Soudai wazawai shuuha - Grand Calamity/Catastrophe Wave_: Can be interpreted either way. A technique used by Garrett that unleashes a concentrated burst of chakra from the fist through the ground, attacking any dormant fault lines which triggers an earthquake. But as the epicenter is established, a powerful wave of energy erupts from the epicenter, taking away any avenue of escaping through the air.  
_  
Yomi Numa - Swamp of the Underworld_: An earth technique that creates a swamp that can sink just about anything.  
_  
Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu - Shuriken Shadow Duplication technique_: Self-explanatory  
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Shôsen jutsu - Mystical Palm technique_: Shifting and converting one's chakra to focus on their hands, the person can turn the appendages into makeshift scalpels.  
_  
Katon: Yo'ouri - 1,000 Burning Embers_: A technique Itachi created in an attempt to finish the battle with Garrett. Using the same principle of the Raikiri, Itachi manipulates the chakra to favor fire more than lightning. The effect's are both the same, yet different. While the Raikiri pierces, the Yo'ouri burns and rips, causing more painful damage.  
_  
Shuriken Bakuya - Shuriken Explosion_: Funneling chakra into the shuriken shadow duplicates, they can be detonated like bombs. 

For those of you who might wait a while to read the next chapter, then I will at least offer unto you a preview into the next chapter. _As the conflict between the Leaf and it's intruders dies down, what will become of the fallen shinobi? And while that series of events played out, what happened with Cell Seven? Did they manage to avoid conflict? Or did conflict find them in their moment of weakness? In the aftermath of chaos, the ones left to their thoughts have but one ultimate course of action. _Reflections: The Price We Pay


	18. Chapter 18

This is the second chapter of the double update. Once again, thank you for being patient and for reading. Also, I'm happy that, so far, no lynch mobs have located my whereabouts. I assure you that this chapter will answer some questions, but will leave others open. I will deal with those situations when the time comes. For now, just enjoy, as I welcome you to the next chapter in Konoha's Legacy.

_**A/N:** I do not own Naruto or Full Metal Alchemist._

Chapter Eighteen - Reflections: The Price We Pay

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Uchiha Sasuke had always sought to be the best he possibly could at all times. He looked for the best way to improve, the best way to study, the best way to train, and the best way to succeed. Victory was his only option, defeat was not. And as the younger brother of Uchiha Itachi, great things were expected of him. As an Uchiha, he was told he should never have to rely on the assistance of others. He should always stand above the competition, and always be capable of besting his opposition. This was drilled into his mind, from the day he began training, all the way to this very moment.

Yet, for the past couple of days, he had been forced to admit his limits and accept the assistance his teammates provided. While his father may be displeased with this situation, there just wasn't anything Sasuke could do to fight against it right now.

With his body battered and sore, he felt shame for needing the assistance of his teammates. He seemed to be the burden on the team, at this time, and it simply irked him to no end. How could he possibly be this susceptible to weakness?

About one hour after leaving the company of the assembly of shinobi that were helping him and his team, they had felt a massive wave of chakra wash over them, as if bathing them in the enormity of the malevolence that coated the terrifying chakra. He could tell it belonged to Garrett, but it was much more horrible than it had been when they first encountered him that day.

He wasn't exactly sure how long after that happened that they felt the ground tremoring violently and another wave, this of something that he could only define as power, blasted them. It wasn't as powerful as it probably was up close to it's source, but it was enough to knock them off balance and off their feet. What it did do was give hidden enemies the chance to attack. Three individuals, all from Kumogakure, if their hitai-ite's could be believed, had chosen that very moment to pounce like opportunistic hyenas.

One person, sporting a vest that was a sickly shade of green, with pants that were of the same color, and with a ragged looking longsleeve brown shirt underneath the vest, had lunged for him, but Naruto intercepted the charge. Unfortunately, the blonde's heroics were of no consequence to the attacker, for Naruto was struck by the man in brown and green. Struck usually refers to being hit with an object or hit with blunt force, so it didn't seem like an appropriate term to use. Naruto wasn't _struck_, he was _slashed_.

The glint off the attacker's hands from the rays of sunlight crawling through the thick cover of shade provided by the god-forsaken forest helped prove Sasuke's assumptions. The attacker had on a pair of vile-looking gauntlets that settled on each hand. Acting as a glove, the fingers of the devices thinned at the end of the appendages, and were also very metallic. In fact, the gloves did not seem to look anything like gloves, or anything resembling a hand. It was more of a claw than a glove, and one that looked powerful and sharp. Sasuke knew he wanted to avoid being introduced to the menacing weapons.

Despite knowing this information, it did not make him anymore ready to not confront the attacker. Sasuke went for his shuriken pouch and intended to fight this person, when he saw two other's appear out of the corner of his vision and walk into direct eyesight. The reason why this halted the Uchiha's attack was because one of the two other intruders had Hinata detained and imprisoned in a binding of white material. She seemed horrified and petrified, and she was being held out in front of them, to act as a human shield, or so he thought.

Sasuke knew that he and Naruto wouldn't even have a chance of victory unless a plan could be made and acted upon in order to free Hinata. With his body still feeling raw, it was a simple understanding that he wouldn't last long in a fight in his current condition. He needed time to think. He could only hope that one of the three Kumo nin's would be talkative. "Who are you three, and what do you want with us?"

The one who chose to respond to the question wore a white, form-fitting body suit, with a blue vest over his chest, and loose, long-legged white pants. Situated on each forearm was a bracer that was hard to describe from his position. But he could see some sort of weird compartment on the palm-side of the wrist on each bracer. The hitai-ite was tied around his head with special long cloth that helped cover up the top of his head, but hair could be seen poking out from the covering. "My name is Raizen," then he pointed at the man with the gauntlets, "he's Yensui," and finally he pointed to the one holding Hinata bound, "and he is Hokumo."

The third person, the one called Hokumo, was clothed in an odd assortment of cloths that looked to be sewn together. The strange collection of fabrics were a dirty grayish/yellowish color, which gave him a hobo-ish appearance. Where the cloths did not cover, bandages could be seen wrapped around the area. His hair was long, falling to just about his shoulders and off the sides of his face and the back of his head. His face was of an eerie calm - emotionless.

"As for why we are here," continued Raizen, "it is to settle a little issue we have with your village."

Naruto was trying to stand up but seemed to be having a great deal of trouble doing so. Sasuke couldn't understand this. He and Naruto had sparred on a number of occasions, sometimes using kunais and shurikens, and Sasuke remembered slashing Naruto once across the back on the left shoulder blade. At that time, Naruto did not seemed to falter like he was now. What was so different?

His question, unfortunately for him, was about to be answered. "Just to let you know, kid, when I _scratched_ you a few moments ago, you were poisoned. Lucky for you, though, it's only going to burn, it won't kill you, but it will hurt like hell." was the statement spoken through a metallic mask from Yensui.

This knowledge, while it changed the whole complexity of the situation in Sasuke's mind, did not seem to affect Naruto in the same way. It actually appeared as though hearing that it was poison spurred the blond onwards. Sasuke knew it was a taxing task, but Naruto managed to stand up and got into a battle-ready stance. At that point, Sasuke had had enough time to formulate a plan, even if it was a little haphazard in construction.

"Listen, I'll try to distract the other two; meanwhile, you try to cut Hinata free so we can have an even fight. Okay?" It was simplistic in nature, and Sasuke was a little embarrassed about that, but it was the best they could do. In his current situation, he knew that he would have to be the long-range fighter and leave the brute force fighting to Naruto and Hinata, when she was freed. He would have to stay away from physical confrontation and fight a distanced battle. Naruto nodded in agreement with the plan, and set off to do his part. His motion brought all attention on to him, giving Sasuke just the right moment to surprise his targets. He would have to distract Raizen and Yensui in order to give Naruto the chance to cut Hinata free from Hokumo. After that, it was fair game.

Thanks to the pill he was given from the medic-nin Vander, his chakra supplies were almost fully replenished, and there was a great deal of energy in his body. He wasn't at full capacity and capabilities, but he wasn't going to be a burden either. Launching a volley of fireballs at both Raizen and Yensui, he achieved the desired results and got them to retreat away from the attacks, and Hokumo. Naruto now had a clear angle to free Hinata.

But when he couldn't follow through with the attacks, Raizen had sprinted over to try and intercept Naruto. He tried to intercept but was intercepted by Yensui, who tried to gash him across his already raw body. Forced to retreat from close-quarters, he could only watch in dismay and aggravation as Naruto was unsuccessful in his attempts and assaulted by Raizen.

What the strange compartment's on Raizen's bracers turned out to be were conductors. Apparently, it assisted Raizen in converting his chakra to the element of lightning and conducting it for transmission off of the bracers and through the nin's hands. This was demonstrated in a disturbing exhibition where Naruto became the lab rat for the Kumo nin's demonstration.

Through the use of enhanced peripheral vision, Sasuke had managed to narrowly dodge another slashing attack from Yensui, and at the same time, witness Raizen's assault on Naruto. When the blonde was stopped, caught in the grip of white-clad shinobi, electrical currents began dancing in a grotesque ballet that both captivated and horrified. Blue and white arcs of searing voltage traveled and engulfed all that was Naruto. Besides the sound of the crackling volts, the only other sounds, that still seemed to haunt Sasuke's mind were the desperate pleas for Raizen to stop coming from Hinata, and the agonized screams coming from the twitching and spasming form of Naruto.

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Naruto's screams of pain echoed not just across the field that day, but also in her mind, where she and her friends were, yet again, caught in another struggle that could be the death of them. It was haunting, like a nightmare with no signs of ending. A reminder of her weakness. Just thinking about it made the words of Anko call back into her mind and had Hinata questioning herself with the very question the special jounin had posed to her during the interview, which was the first portion of the exam. Did she really understand what she was getting into by wanting to be a ninja?

But, at that moment of time, on that day, the only answer that had come had come indirectly from recollection. She recalled her father, saying he was actually _proud_ of her. She recalled her resolve when she spoke up, wanting to participate in the exam. She recalled that day in the hot spring with Sakura and Kurenai, making the vow to herself that she would become stronger and not need to be protected. She kept asking herself why she was not doing anything about this.

The answer could not be a simple cop-out, like she was bound by the wrapping of Hokumo, because the binding was not wrapped all too tightly around her. If she worked, she would be able to break free, but there was something strange about Hokumo. He was so calm, and the calmness was so contagious that it seemed to sedate her possible aggression. But every agonizing scream from Naruto was reverberating through her entire being. He was enduring that torture because he was trying to help her. So why wasn't she pulling her own weight? Why wasn't she doing something about it?

Resolve was kicking in as she began to channel her chakra, seeking the tenketsus spread through her body that would allow her to expel chakra through. Her plan was to expel the chakra through the tenketsus and slacken the bindings enough to free herself. Byakugan activating through this process without much thought, she could see the lines that still plagued her vision. But this time, without doubt and insecurity haunting her, she became aware of something that was different than the previous times she tried to activate her bloodline.

Her sight happened to lock onto her own body and saw that some of the lines were brighter than others. Those brighter lines were coming from the tenketsus she could feel she was about to use in order to free herself. Allowing instinct to take over in her escape attempt freed her mind to focus more on this new revelation. If what she saw indicated what she thought it did, then she had discovered that her byakugan vision was not tainted but possibly excelling. She was a believer in karma, so she did not want to test her luck at this moment, and have this possible advantage stripped from her before she could make any difference in the outcome of the fight.

Once again, she recalled one of the lessons that a family tutor had taught her about tenketsus, and the Byakugan's vision based upon the tenketsu. Some of the family's reports indicate that there have been documented cases where the Byakugan was able to discern where the most used tenketsus were located on an opponent's body. Shutting down that tenketsu, which was referred to as a _'Tenketsu Gate'_, would hinder a foe's abilities.

Now that she was expelling the chakra with enough force to give her partial mobility, she managed to snatch a pocketed kunai and cut herself free with a quick upward motion. Hinata was now focusing her attention solely on Raizen, intending to make him pay for what he was doing to Naruto. Applying for attention towards her vision, she sought for his tenketsu, noting that the lines were also coming from him. There were small strands coming from places she knew tenketsu's were situated, but she was searching for the brighter ones with the larger strands.

Lashing out at Raizen, forcing him to disengage from Naruto, she darted her right hand out to palm thrust him in the chest, but he stepped away from the attack and began to swing at her. It was as the fist was coming towards her that she saw it. A point on his elbow that was glowing brighter than the other's on his arm. Leaning her head back to avoid any possible momentum-filled contact to be felt, she darted out with both of her hands, the left's fore and middle fingers stabbing at the bright tenketsu, and the right to stop Raizen's right fist's momentum.

After Raizen grunted from the sharp pain he must've felt, he shrugged out of her lackluster hold on his arm and continued in his motion, grabbing at her left shoulder and squeezing. The action made her wince at the pressure and the slight anxiety from her own doubt - not just in her assumptions but also of her own skill. But when the bolts of electricity did not sear and scorch her body as they did Naruto, she was relieved and elated. She had found a way to turn weakness into strength. And she might have found a way to tip the tide of this battle largely in her team's favor.

His surprise was evident, but instead of investigating the problem, the shinobi chose to ignore it and find an alternate solution for his goal. This was to use his unharmed left arm and hand to attack her. Hinata did not know if this nin from Kumo had any knowledge of the tenketsu and hakke, but his actions helped to justify a belief that he did possess such knowledge.

Knowing she did not want to undergo agonizing pain such as electrocution, Hyuuga Hinata now shifted into a more adept Hyuuga fighter. Brutal precision would mark her every action from this point on. Pushing off with her right foot, she swung with her right hand and knocked Raizen's right arm away for the moment and spun into the motion, placing her back to his front. As the left hand changed direction, Hinata thrusted her left hand out to clip his between the wrist and elbow, stopping the movement, and moved with deadly proficiency as she closed off the bright tenketsu of his left elbow.

Figuring, hoping, him to now be ineffective in battle, it was time to neutralize him. This would be where she would normally succumb to her pacifistic nature and not strike her opponent with unemotional, crippling attacks that were expected of a trained Hyuuga fighter. She didn't like even the thought of performing such an act on anybody. But this time it was different.

These shinobi were from Kumo, the very village whose leader had tried to kidnap her at one time. It is well-known that, since then, relations between Kumo and Konoha were effectively destroyed. Kumo's elders on their village's council had even demanded that her father's life be paid for the death of their Raikage. But in his stead, Hizashi, Neji's father and Hiashi's brother, would take the place of the Hyuuga head - not only to protect Hiashi, but also to protect the Byakugan. It was thanks to the Yondaime that her family did not have to suffer that injustice. Now, several years later, shinobi from the same village were after her again, this time for revenge. She just couldn't believe how shallow they must have been.

But then there was also the fact that in their pursuit for vengeance, they had attacked her teammates, her friends. If she hadn't acted when she did, then Naruto might have died at Raizen's hands, while trying to save her. Those things had combined with her drive to protect and had created a rare occurrence for the Hyuuga heir. She did not care if she hurt these men. She did not care if she crippled these men. She did not even care if she took their lives. She only cared about defeating them.

She thrusted her left elbow right into Raizen's sternum, knocking the breath out of him momentarily, and giving her ample opportunity to continue on the offensive. With her right hand, she stabbed it into the stomach of the shinobi, like one would with a knife, and continued driving it through as she stepped into the attack. Though she wasn't piercing skin, she did know how this felt thanks to her many sparring practices in the family dojo, so she understood that it probably did feel like she was stabbing him with a blade.

Having flowed through that motion, now she looked for the finishing touches. With her left foot, she moved it forward to flow into an open-palmed uppercut with her left hand. Upon connection with Raizen's jaw, she heard a creaking and cracking sound that made her stomach a little queasy, but she pushed past it to finish him off. Now that he was completely off balance, she was going to do a right-handed palm thrust into his gut with enough power to probably disintegrate the stomach and intestines.

That was when she felt a sharp, searing, horrific pain shoot through her entire body. It was so painful that she fell to her knees from the pain. It felt as if a number of metallic blades had carved the skin on her back. She tried to gather herself, tried to stop herself from allowing her mind to focus solely on the pain and make a counter-offensive, but it just wouldn't work. The searing pain was becoming more like an acidic burning inside of her. Unconsciously, the Byakugan had de-activated without her giving her eyes express permission, so she could not tell who had caused this pain. But she was fairly sure that it was the male shinobi, Yensui, who had done it.

Now sitting on her knees, her legs tucked under her, her arms draped over the opposite shoulder, as if trying to find some way to seek the wounds with touch, she was now at the mercy, or lack thereof, of Raizen. She wouldn't expect any from him, but it was still a shock to her when his knee collided forcefully against her left cheek. But she wasn't given the ability to fall backwards. He had a handful of her hair, using it as leverage to get in a forceful attack.

Pulling on her hair again, Raizen slammed his knee into her again and again, until Hinata could swear to feeling her cheek bone fracture and her mouth leak a small trail of blood out of the corner of her lip. Bruising was already taking effect, her cheek already swelling, and it even crept towards her eye. She cursed inwardly as she was pulled by her hair into a somewhat standing position, but that was only so he could get a solid punch in on her stomach. Against her will, tears formed in her eyes as the pain was accumulating to a breaking point. But the remorseless assault continued.

Raizen gripped her chin in his hand, cupped to support her jaw, but he squeezed excessively tight, causing her more pain. He positioned her face close to his, so close that she could, disgustingly, smell his breath as he spoke against her face. "So...how does it feel...Hyuuga? To feel...defeated...helpless...powerless. It's not something...you are used to...is it? The almighty...Hyuuga...Their heir...was a disappointment...I was expecting more...but this...This is what our former leader died trying to possess? Pathetic..."

No strength seemed to remain in her body. The pain from his physical attack had decimated her resolve. His verbal assault was the breaking point in her. No will remained to defend herself, her friends, or her family's honor. She felt a familiar feeling begin to spread across her. A desire to sleep. Sleep away the pain. Sleep away the shame. But before that could happen, she felt a chakra signature spike and heard the sound of something speeding through the air, like ferocious winds. Everything else...was a blur.

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When he had been slashed by Yensui and heard that the blades on his gauntlets were laced with a poison meant to weaken the body, Naruto had tried to summon the medicinal chakra necessary to attempt to purge the poison out of his system, but the pain the wounds caused made his chakra control sporadic.

Then, when he and Sasuke tried to get Hinata free from Hokumo, he had managed to effectively block the pain of the claw-marks across his chest out of his mind, but that did not help when Raizen had managed to get past Sasuke's attacks and intercept him.

The pain from the electricity flowing from the bracers into and across his body was unfathomable. It just wouldn't stop. His entire body felt like it was being cut and ripped asunder, and that the objects doing this were wires that could pierce skin. That was the best way to describe it. It was as if he was being stitched by multitudes of people, the needles at a scalding temperature, like a branding iron, and attached to the needles were wires laced with the most painful of alcoholic and acidic rubs.

When the pain finally stopped, he thanked Kami, or whoever, for the break in that torture. As soon as his eyesight returned, Naruto searched for his savior, and saw Hinata, free from her captor and unrelenting in an attack on Raizen's body using _Jyuuken_. Seeing her in full control, Naruto could now turn his attention to other things, like how was Sasuke faring, and where was Hokumo, the would-be captor.

Upon coming to that decision, Naruto saw Yensui running from Sasuke, not out of fear or to flee, but to assist Raizen. Sasuke was hot on Yensui's heels, but when Yensui locked eyes with the blonde, a shout came from his muzzled mouth. "Hokumo, detain these two while I help Raizen."

Naruto acted quickly to that command, because he did not like the thought that Hinata might become double-teamed, but Yensui leaped over him and before realizing it, he had joined Sasuke, unceremoniously, in a prison of water. Looking around, he now saw Hokumo with his right hand extended and a small stream of water connecting the hand to the prison. The prison itself seemed perfectly spherical in appearance and the borders were visible, but there was no water inside. If Naruto remembered correctly, then a water prison technique was supposed to capture a target in a sphere of water, effectively drowning the victim. So why did this Hokumo person design the prison with no water inside?

Naruto's thoughts were cast aside for later deduction once he saw the abusive spectacle that was becoming Hinata's fight. She could no longer stand on her own power, that much he could tell, and yet that bastard, Raizen, was ruthless in his tirade. Steadily, the muscles in his body were tightening, and his jaw clenched considerably, allowing his teeth to show, signifying his frustration and anger. But more than that, panic was playing a large role in his demeanor. If he or Sasuke could not figure something out quickly, then Hinata might be killed.

Thinking quickly, he studied the prison for a few short moments before pulling out one of his few remaining kunai, gripping it tightly, and slashed at the prison's walls. The end result was a slight tear before the cut mended itself quickly. Naruto figured that even if he had a large blade, he still wouldn't be able to pierce the wall and have enough time to possibly get through. No, they needed to destroy the whole damn thing. Otherwise, Hokumo would just continue to reform the prison.

In order to do that...a slight sacrifice would have to be made. Turning to Sasuke, Naruto hardened his face into one of determination. Sasuke noticed this and immediately focused. "Sasuke, we need to destroy this bubble all at once or we will not get out with enough time. I need you to take a deep breath and hold on."

Sasuke's eyes bulged upon completion of that request and seemed to try to speak to him, but Naruto ignored that and proceeded. "Fuuton: Siphon!" The valuable remnants of air that was allowed them in this prison were now fuel for Naruto. He had, literally, one shot at this.

Taking the wind now swirling around him, he compressed it, achieving the desired results. The force of the _siphon_ was actually affecting the prison composed of water. Now that that hunch was proven correct, it was time to get free and kick these guys' ass. He expanded the compressed air, filling it out all around the sphere, as though creating another layer, but made of wind. The only thing left was the hard part: using the wind to destroy the prison.

Naruto's memory helped him in this process of his plan, for he remembered being told that high-speed, rotating winds, coupled with an accumulation of moisture, would result in creating an icy climate. Using his chakra to help him, Naruto forced the wind to swirl against the barrier. Faster and faster the wind swirled, and lower and lower the temperature dropped. Naruto was beginning to see his breath in the air, telling him he was close. Just a little more, and they could be free. That was when he saw Raizen, the depraved sonuvabitch that he was, showing off his depravity.

With Hinata's chin still in his cupped hand's grasp, his other hand - thumb looped through a kunai ring, which was hanging from said thumb - was crawling down Hinata's side, down past the left side of her hip, and then in a flash, the kunai was being gripped in the hand and the point was pressing dangerously against her...area...as he licked her jawline.

That set him off like a bomb. The wind howled in ferocity, matching it's user's own rage, and plummeting the temperature well below freezing. In a matter of seconds, the water prison had become a massive ball of ice that Hokumo couldn't contain. But instead of the ball of ice hitting the ground and possibly shattering, Naruto had already burst through and was making a mad dash at Yensui and Raizen.

Yensui had turned around and removed his metallic mask, and after taking a deep breath, exhaled a green cloud of toxic fumes. Naruto leaped into the air and created two shadow clones. The clones each grabbed one side of the real Naruto's jacket and threw him with all the strength the clones could muster towards Raizen. That man was Naruto's only target and anyone who got in his way would be destroyed. Only later would Naruto come to understand just how primitive humans could be. Even he, a trained shinobi, had acted upon feral-like rage.

With the boost in speed, he closed the gap between him and Raizen in no time, and introduced the Kumo-teme intimately to his fist. The sensations that assaulted Naruto with the successful strike of that one blow on the bastard were numerous. Happiness, sadness, anger, relief...but most of all, satisfaction. It only grew more satisfactory as he became aware that he had done some severe damage to Raizen's facial bones. The sound was very distinct. He had definitely broken a cheek bone, possibly more, and yet he didn't care. Not one bit.

After Raizen was knocked away from Hinata, Naruto made sure to hold on to her so she wouldn't fall down. This left them wide open, unfortunately, to Yensui and his toxic vapors. But Naruto was not playing nice either. As he saw Yensui take a deep breath, he shifted Hinata so that he could better make handseals. Then the poison-user from Kumo exhaled, attempting to blanket he and Hinata in the toxic fumes.

But Yensui didn't get any further. Naruto didn't let him. "_Fuuton: Takaya no jutsu_!" Finely concentrated wind cut through the air like an arrow as it found it's target rather effectively. The attack cut through the cloud of green, taking the toxic gases with it and slammed into the open mouth of Yensui. The end result was the back of Yensui's head being blown apart from the force. The Kumo nin fell to his knees before crumpling in a heap.

Unfortunately for Naruto, Raizen had managed to find his voice, despite having broken facial bones. "You bastard! I'll make you pay for that! Hokumo, let's finish these fools off once and for all. Screw the mission! I just want them dead!"

Attention turned to Hokumo, who had been in the middle of a stare-down with Sasuke. The quiet nin gazed around at everyone, lingering on Naruto and Hinata, until moving on to look upon his teammate, and then closed the emotionless eyes in thought. When Hokumo's eyes opened, they no longer were emotionless, but held resolve, comprehension, understanding, and determination. "No, I will not fight anymore."

Before Raizen could utter an enraged response, Hokumo continued. "It is now clear that I have been misled. I am ashamed that I went along with the ramblings of my elders, and did not question the validity of their argument. But now I see the truth for what it is. Uzumaki-san, Hyuuga-san, Uchiha-san, I hope you can forgive me for my transgressions." Hokumo then did something completely unexpected. The shinobi fell to his hands and knees in a plea for forgiveness.

During this display, Raizen had made a move to escape. But Naruto noticed in enough time not to let the coward get away. Cradling Hinata, he leapt over to Sasuke and entrusted him to keep her comfortable...and safe. Applying as much chakra into his legs as they could handle, he sped after the fleeing bastard. He was surprised with how quickly he caught up to Raizen, but didn't give it a second thought. Naruto was only concerned with making Raizen pay. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!!!" Two new clones came into existence.

The two clones flanked Raizen on the man's left and right side, then switched sides by running slightly in front of Raizen. Then they started to run back towards Naruto, but were disposed of with two kunai each. But that didn't matter anymore. They had done their job. Naruto had given the two clones one chakra wire each. And the wires were still connected to his hand. The clones only had to tie it around Raizen's neck.

With a nuece in place, he set it so that the loop was secure around Raizen's neck, and allowed for the end still attached to him to be slack. Dashing towards the closest tree, Naruto fused the wires into the trunk, like he had done with Garrett earlier. Once that was complete, he then reeled Raizen in with violent speed. The Kumo-teme was gagging and spouting off curses and flailing about, but it was no use.

Making sure Raizen was held to the tree perfectly, he also bound the arms so that no hand seals could be made. When he completed the preparations, Naruto moved so that he and Raizen were face to face.

"You bastard Uzumaki!!! When I get my hands on you, I will kick your ass, the Uchiha's ass, kill my ex-partner, and then have my way with that wench." Apparently, Naruto's face had displayed his emotions, a betrayal that Raizen tried to use to gain a mental advantage. "Oh yeah, I'll humiliate and humble that Hyuuga slut like no one probably has."

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" shouted Naruto, driving a kunai into the crotch of Raizen, eliciting blood-curdling screams from the Kumo-nin. Though he tried to not let the screams get to him, he couldn't repress a shudder that went down his spine from knowing that he was enjoying inflicting this pain on the bastard.

"Does this hurt? I'll bet it does. What you have done this day will not be forgiven. But don't worry, this pain will end soon enough." Cupping his hand around Raizen's chin, much like the bastard had done to Hinata, he reached into one of his pouches and extracted an explosive note. He held no remorse for what he was about to do.

Naruto brought the tag to Raizen's lips, and applied it to the vulgar orifice. The tag acted as a muffle, keeping any further noise from escaping the teme's mouth. Words were not necessary at this point. Gripping the kunai once more, he twisted it to grind even more painfully against the bastard's genitals, or what was left of them, and extracted the tool. As he continued moving back towards Sasuke, Hinata, and, uncomfortably, Hokumo, Sasuke was the first to speak upon his return. "Naruto, what happened to Raizen?"

An explosion went off almost immediately after Sasuke finished his question. The magnitude was tremendous, and even though it was set off several meters away from them all, debris was still propelled through the air into their vicinity. He looked towards his dumbfounded Uchiha teammate and stated the obvious. "I dealt with him."

This day had been hell for him, Hinata, and Sasuke. They had faced off with a devil and two acolytes, and survived...somehow. Hokumo, who had apologized deeply for his actions, continued with his pleas for forgiveness, but Naruto had not the strength to give him the justification. It wasn't that he totally despised Hokumo and wasn't ungrateful for the nin's continued displays of pacifism towards he and his comrades throughout the entire ordeal, it was just that Naruto was exhausted, bitter, and dismayed at the time. That didn't stop Hokumo from performing a truly noble act.

The pacifist handed Naruto two scrolls, telling him that he and his team had earned them in the battle. Hokumo also said that he would leave them in peace, or what could possibly be salvaged into peace, and request an audience with the Yondaime Hokage and explain the actions and agenda of their team at this chuunin exam and to be punished justly. That declaration stunned Naruto and left him speechless as Hokumo walked off, the shinobi intending to make good on the promise.

Once Hokumo was out of the vicinity, Naruto and Sasuke decided to set up camp for the evening. But when Sasuke froze suddenly, a look of desperation and disbelief plastered all over his face, Naruto became worried instantly. "Sasuke, what is it?"

Sasuke's jaw twitched, as if trying to muster the strength to speak, before responding in a quiet voice. "I...I can't sense my brother's chakra anymore."

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"It's quite simple. I've already done an assessment on them. Arashi's right quadrant kidney has suffered catastrophic damage and has already gone into shock. We wouldn't be able to get him to the hospital in enough time. It would only worsen his condition. Itachi has suffered trauma the likes of which I have never seen, or could ever recall in any records. The tissue and musculature has been eaten through by...what can only be diagnosed as a fire of some kind. There is definite evidence to support that it was fire, but...it's still burning inside him. No ordinary medical treatment of any kind can save him or Arashi."

Kakashi felt something in him on the verge of shattering, probably his sanity, and would probably have broken, had Jiraiya not been so keen on a subtle hint left at the end of the diagnosis. "So, no _ordinary_ medical treatment can help them, is that what you are saying?" When Vander nodded slightly, Jiraiya continued, "I can only guess that means you have an unorthodox medical treatment that you can try, right?"

Everyone there became so deathly quiet, waiting for a response. "Yes...sort of...but before I begin...you all have to make a vow right here, right now. You will not utter a single word as to what you will witness here to anyone, are we clear?" When everyone had begrudgingly agreed, seeing no alternative but to leave the fate of Itachi and Arashi in this man's unfamiliar hands, the healer walked over to Arashi and bent down to one knee.

Surprisingly, though it shouldn't have been considering who it was, Arashi was still conscious and capable of speaking, but with great difficulty. "Vander...what is the diagnosis." He coughed up some blood after finishing.

"Not good, friend, not good at all. You will die if something is not done. Same with the Uchiha. There's only one way, however."

"No...You can't do that...The toll it takes on you..."

"If I don't use it for these purposes, then what is the point of having it? All you have to do is lie back and wait."

"Call over Kakashi."

Vander did just that, watching warily as the scarecrow-like ANBU captain approached shakily. "Kakashi...trust him...I do...and I still trust you..." The words actually brought tears to Kakashi, a sight that was eerie, to say the least. "I'm...ready...whenever you are...Vander..."

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Vander didn't waste any time past that point. Barking out orders left and right, the forest was cleared and smoothed out for precisely one mile, while searching for any possible spies. When no one was seen, Kakashi and Jiraiya were charged with the task of setting up a genjutsu around the cleared out sector of the forest so that no one could see what was going to happen. It seemed a curious request to make, since it would be really hard to see a six foot tall person one mile away, but Arashi trusted this man, so they would too. Completing that task was rather simple, actually, and when they did, they waited for whatever would come next.

Vander removed the cape and body armor he still wore, retrieved a scroll and unraveled it. What was curious was that the scroll was a sealing scroll. Biting his thumb, he streaked it across the parchment, causing a burst of smoke to cloud the viewing of whatever was taking place. When the smoke dissipated, it was seen that what the scroll had sealed into it was a field kit. Since Vander seemed to be a medic-nin, others assumed it contained medical equipment. What Vander pulled out was not medical equipment, but two more parchments.

One was a rolled-up scroll and the other a folded sheet of cloth. He focused his attention on Jiraiya and Kakashi before moving on. "I need you two to each move Uchiha-san and Uzumaki-san over to the following designated places." He told them where he needed the patients, and cut off the top portion of his body-wear, revealing a startling sight to those who saw it.

His frame was not overly ripped, nor was it under-cut, but that was not the reason his upper body had caught the attention of everyone there. Across his chest, stomach, shoulders, all of his back, and down his arms, were...designs of some kind, as though they were tattoos, but not like tattoos. He unfolded the sheet of cloth, which had a design, like a seal, drawn across it. Laying it down on the ground, he bent over it, bit into both thumbs to get a supply of blood ready for marking. Wiping his right thumb across his left arm, and vice versa, he began chanting.

It was at this point that Jiraiya realized just what Vander was doing and who he was. Without knowing, he muttered in a low, awed voice, "Wow," which did not go unnoticed by Kakashi.

The silver-haired jounin looked at the white-haired sannin in curiosity. "What is it, Jiraiya-sama?"

Jiraiya, in response, looked at Kakashi, as if judging whether he should say anything or not. Deciding that it wouldn't hurt anything, he spoke in a hushed voice so as to not draw the unnecessary eavesdropping of others.

"I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out this guy, who he is, and what he is, but now I believe I know. Arashi told me a while back that he had met an interesting person over in Lightning Country on a mission to dismantle a stronghold where Kumo-nin and the country's civilian military forces were holed up. But there was one person who was spared - who Arashi personally pardoned - and this is that one man.

"Apparently, this man, Vander, or whatever his name actually is, was a healer, but he chose to heal not only the injured from Lightning, but also those of Fire who had invaded and were injured during their attempts, even if they were captured. But during that time, something happened, something Arashi said he would never mention, for he had made a promise to not speak of it - much like we have here - but that event, whatever it was, was what ended up making them comrades.

"Anyways, Arashi said that Vander was of a different variety than your typical shinobi. Vander practiced not only ninjutsu, but also a special art...alchemy. That was actually what brought Vander to our continent, was the study and practice of ninjutsu. You see, alchemists believe that everything has a price. To gain, you must sacrifice something of equal or greater value. It's the fundamental principle of alchemy, called _Equivalent Exchange_.

"Alchemy is the use of materials and your own natural alchemic energies to analyze, break apart, and create anew. But apparently, the way we use ninjutsu is of the same principle theory. But instead of sacrificing material, we sacrifice our own energy. So Vander came here in order to learn how to harness and use this energy, that we know as Chakra, and find a way to incorporate it into alchemic theorums."

Kakashi's eyes were bulging at this discovery when his attention was suddenly pulled towards Vander, as a surge of power flowed from the _alchemist_. A blue-ish light was focused on the sheet of cloth that was laying on the ground and Vander's hands were currently placed directly on the cloth. Without warning, the light surged, it's brightness threatening to blind Kakashi, Jiraiya, and all else who were present. They were all forced to shield their eyes, lest they desired to never see much of anything ever again.

Once the light dimmed, and the odd noise that sounded like an electric generator died down, Kakashi dared to check what had just happened. His eyes...he thought he was seeing things. He rubbed them, trying to rid whatever could be playing with his vision. But when he looked again, there seemed to be no denying it. All across the vast expanse of space they had all been told to clear for Vander, a design was etched into the ground. Runes and symbols adorned the borders of circles and arcs. Where Itachi and Arashi were positioned in this design, they were inside of a circle with more runes and symbols on the circle's border. Each of their circle's had a line that branched off towards Vander's position. This line had numerous runes and kanjis etched around it, intersecting and branching off the main line, as though it was a DNA pattern.

Where Vander stood was even more complex. Three circles, one inside the other inside the other, with even more kanjis, runes, and symbols than any other portion of the design individually, helped give off an impression of hyper-activity inside the dormant design. It was haunting and eerie, but also amazing and captivating. Movement from Vander caught the attention of everyone as the alchemist brought his hands together, as one would in order to pray. "Hear my plea. Take these battered and broken souls, and mend their wounds. I am your vessel, I am your servant. Help me...help them." Very quickly, he performed five familiar hand seals, clapped his hands together, and grasped each shoulder with the opposite arm's hand, before he muttered words that shocked everyone. "_Kuchiyose no jutsu: Fenikkusu_."

Anko was the first to speak, the words sounding comical after-the-fact. "What did he say?"

Slowly, steadily, the marks on Vander's body glowed, as did the engraved markings on the ground shimmer. An indescribable energy began seeping from the marks on the ground, cumulating to such a mass that it was almost suffocating. Culminating and molding, twisting and shaping, focusing and defining, it became a force so great that it was almost too much just to stand on one's own feet, much less try to see into the mass of chakra and energy.

But Kakashi's sharingan eye wouldn't allow the captain to go without some sort of understanding. And what it saw was remarkable and frightening. It was a creature resembling a bird. The wingspan spread out across thousands of feet per wing. The torso was massive, shimmering an ethereal, almost holy, light. It had no feet or talons, which seemed perplexing if it were a bird that was in the midst of this power, but it did have large, massive tail-feathers. The neck rose from the massive torso, and ended with a ferocious and fearsome head. Though the characteristics were hard to distinguish, it was the eyes that caught the attention of the sharingan. The eyes blazed with an intensity that could make anyone cower and whimper like a child, and yet they glowed with compassion that was disarming.

Steadily, the light grew so bright that not even the sharingan could discern what was happening, so Kakashi had to close that eye too, to avoid becoming blind in his most useful eye. A great roar sounded, like one from a raging inferno, and in the next moment, everyone was awash with the energy, as if it exploded. The moments that followed were filled with suspense as the energy thinned and calm returned anew.

The haze that did linger inhibited the vision of Kakashi and sent the man into a mild panic. "Hokage-sama!!!" When no response was received, he tried again. "Hokage-sama!!!" By this time, others who were conscious and capable of assisting in the search were calling out to their fallen leader, hoping to get an answer. What Kakashi eventually stumbled on to was something completely unexpected...but welcome nonetheless.

The outline of blonde hair was all Kakashi needed to sprint over to his sensei's body. Upon reaching the man, the ANBU captain checked the pulse, and found one. "I've found him, and he's alive!" he shouted to all who could hear him. Now, being the captain of the ANBU squadron, it should have been his duty to check on Itachi, but a visual analysis of Arashi had caught and held Kakashi's attention and curiosity. The injury that he had inflicted upon his sensei was no longer existent. No blood, no damage. A healing technique of this magnitude, it was unheard of. Even more perplexing was that there wasn't even signs that a wound had been inflicted. No bloody smearing on the arms. Not even a small scar was present.

This strange occurrence led to Kakashi performing a medical diagnostic check. One didn't hang around Arashi as much as Kakashi had without picking up on something from your sensei's wife. The results were baffling. When one is mortally wounded, and they lose the amount of blood that Arashi lost in order to go into shock, then that whole process takes a toll on the body. The person will be fatigued, without a doubt, for the body is working hard to keep the person alive. But what Kakashi had concluded with the diagnostic check did not pan out with what should logically be the issue. There should be fatigue, there should be strain, and there should be stress, as well as a lowered and depleted chakra capacity. But Arashi showed signs as if the entire incident didn't even occur. As though he were born again. _'What the hell is going on here?'_

------------------------

In a dark den, deep inside the territory of Tea Country, was the gathering place of many people on many occasions. It was the location of the _'Political Grounds'_ in the village of Oto. At this moment, _'political'_ matters were being addressed by five people - six, if you counted the one who was unconscious.

The yellow-slitted eyes of Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Three, and nukenin of Konohagakure, currently were glimmering with emotions bordering fear and anger. Anger at being slightly fearful of anyone. But one of the people interrogating him was one of the few who were capable of pulling off such a feat. This person was known only as 'Leader' in the organization he and his partner belonged to. It was difficult enough to look the man in the eyes, and it would be very foolish of Orochimaru to do so in this instance.

"Orochimaru, we are not ignorant of your actions. While you operate in the shadows, those shadows still have eyes and ears. Those shadows had informed me of your expedition into Fire Country to retrieve a jinchurriki. You allowed that vessel shelter in your hideaway and conducted your experiments. This was allowed without much question, but when you allow that vessel to go about and infiltrate a village the likes of Konoha, you risk more than the loss of a mere _test subject_. You risk everything that has been put into this organization. What do you have to say in your defense, Orochimaru?"

The voice of Leader was of a calm anger, that would make most men quiver. While Orochimaru was not most men, he still struggled collecting himself while being under the pressure of Leader's intense gaze and furious killing intent.

Orochimaru was saved from speaking when his partner, Sasori, spoke up - surprising to Orochimaru, in the hebi-sannin's defense. "While I may not always agree with my partner's choice of actions all the time, I do understand his motives for bringing in a Jinchurriki like Xozen Garrett. The better we understand the workings of a jinchurriki, the easier it can be to locate and track those individuals."

"So, Sasori, you would defend him, hmm?" Leader's gaze lingered over the cloaked form of Sasori, whether in scrutiny or anger was unclear. "Fine then. We'll take our leave." Turning his back to the ones who were under his gaze, Leader stopped to think before moving. "Orochimaru, do not take this lightly. Tread carefully. If you make any further passes at Konoha in the name of your petty revenge, then your life is forfeit."

Orochimaru gritted his teeth at the warning, despising his position for now, but sucking up his pride for the moment. "Hai. What would you have me do with the jinchurriki, Xozen Garrett?"

With Leader's back to him, Orochimaru had no idea of what the man's intentions were. "He does not possess a bijuu, so he is of no concern. Continue your experiments, sign him to your village, or discard him, it does not matter to me. But do not let him free again. If he is caught, measures will have to be taken."

"Understood. And I am sorry for you having to intervene. I assure you, it will not happen again."

"Good, let's hope so. Zetsu, let's go." Nodding his head, Zetsu and the Leader phased out of sight.

With their departure, Orochimaru's anger, which had come to a boiling point, was unleashed on a hapless wall. The force of the punch vibrated the isolated, dim room and caused dust to fall from small cracks in the structure. The silence that followed was more than uncomfortable to Kabuto, but Sasori didn't seem to be phased at all by his partner's outburst.

"Your temper will get the best of you, Orochimaru." spoke Sasori, in a taunting voice.

Orochimaru, instead of retaliating, chose to grit his teeth even more and hung his head, his hair falling to mask his face from possible prying eyes. He hated his predicament, he hated that he had to suck up to the Leader and was at the mercy of the man. But he needed to put up with it just a little longer.

"Orochimaru-sama, if I may have a moment of your time? It seems the genins that were sent to participate in Konoha's chuunin exam have passed. The sensei for each team that has passed the second exam must be present for instructions on the next course of action. What would you have done about this?" Kabuto bowed his head and gave the floor back to his master for a response.

"Very well. You will go as the Jounin-sensei representative." came the order from the _Otokage_. Kabuto responded with a simple "understood, master" before leaving him and Sasori alone.

Turning towards Garrett, who still lay unconscious on the floor where Zetsu deposited him earlier, Orochimaru paced towards the jinchurriki, desiring to know if anything..._interesting_...had occurred during Garrett's infiltration. Laying an open palm on the vessel's head, he saw everything that had happened that day. The fight with Cell Seven, to the interception from the adult Hyuuga, to Itachi's arrival, to their confrontation.

At this point, Orochimaru's smile grew steadily wider in triumph. His first attempt on placing the Juin Jutsu on a jinchurriki had gone over well, much better than Orochimaru would have guessed. But when he saw how Garrett had changed so drastically, it was with an odd combination of pride and anxiety that Orochimaru understood what had happened.

The youki from the demon sealed inside Garrett and the power that spread out from the Juin were becoming one. But without knowledge of how to properly use the Juin, that meant that the control needed was on a higher level than Garrett, alone. It could only mean that his tampering with the seal containing the demon had been more successful than he would have liked.

If the demon was becoming self-aware and manipulating the flow of chakra through Garrett, then problems could arise in the near future. It might mean that the demon could try and escape through a fusion of the juin and the containment seal. But if he could squash this potential problem in advance, then Orochimaru's ultimate plan for the jinchurriki could be realized. _'A vessel with this much power and my intellect would be the perfect container. Then I'll crush Konoha and Akatsuki.'_ Thinking back to what the next step would be in order to achieve his true objective, he remembered pulling from Garrett's mind a memory of the Firaga Ruby. That would need to be the next step.

-------------------------------

_"In order to achieve the greatest power of the sharingan, you must kill the one who has the most meaning to you."_

The words of Uchiha Fugaku, father of Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke, rang through the elder of the boys' mind. In essence, the power of the sharingan is demonic in nature. With the use of a demon's power, a price fitting of a demon must be met.

At that time in the Uchiha prodigy's life, curiosity was his lone weakness. The prospect of acquiring the strongest eyes and surpassing his family in it's entirety was appealing. The only issue was who was close enough to Itachi to fit the bill.

The first thought, the first notion (a horrible and disturbing one, now, after the fact) was his own younger brother. At the time, however, they were not close in any way. His little brother was an annoyance, always wanting help with everything. He never needed help or assistance, never really wanted any, and didn't care to spend any of his valuable time helping those who could not help themselves.

The next person in line was not his own mother or father, like some others might place them in this particular category, but it was his friend, or closest resemblence to one, that is. Uchiha Shisui was a revered Uchiha, just like Itachi, and power attracts other's who are powerful. Itachi was definitely the stronger of the two, but Shisui was so damned fast it was beyond annoying. If Itachi was going to kill Shisui, he would have to lure him into a false sense of security.

On that fateful night that his father pressed the issue again, Itachi made a decision. He would send a notice to Shisui, asking the young teen to meet him in a hidden area of the Uchiha compound. It was there they would discuss a matter detailing possible corruption within the family. But it was Shisui who beat him to it and asked to speak with him about an important matter involving the Uchiha family. Itachi's curiosity was piqued, but he had already decided upon this path, so he accepted and the meeting time was established.

When Itachi arrived, Shisui was already there, waiting patiently, with his back turned. It would have been so easy to sneak up on the boy and end it with an assassin strike. He would then gain the ultimate power of his family's curse. He pulled out a kunai, ready to perform the act, ready to claim the evolved sharingan...

But fate intervened in an odd way. Hatake Kakashi appeared, as if out of thin air, grasped a hold of the collar of his shirt and Shisui's sleeve and the three teleported...to the Hokage's office. Upon arrival, Itachi was met with two sword blades drawn across his neck and positioned so that a mere shift could cut the carotid artery on each side of the neck. Across from him was the Yondaime Hokage, Arashi, sitting at the desk with chin resting on finger-interlaced hands, looking at him with a devastating and calculative stare.

_"Uchiha Itachi, I want you to know that I mean you no harm with this course of action, as was the intention of Shisui. But I needed to bring you here without alerting certain individuals. You are no doubt, curious as to why I have gone about such elaborate measures to ensure our meeting. I assure you it is not for some meaningless or trivial matter."_ Arashi paused to give him time to absorb and analyze the verbage so far, before continuing.

_"I have long been suspicious of Uchiha Fugaku's actions. As much as Orochimaru was opposed to my taking reign as Hokage, Fugaku is opposed to having political power outside of his reach. It was not a matter of if, but when, he would try to push for he and the clan to gain a significant amount of power. I see that the time is approaching. You need not hide your intentions for fear of signing your arrest warrant, but I am correct to assume you had full intentions of murdering Shisui in order to gain an evolved sharingan, right?"_

Itachi was baffled at the vast amount of knowledge that the Yondaime was revealing and more than a little nervous. Apparently the praises of Arashi being the strongest Hokage to date was no mindless or delirious ramblings of brainless bafoons. Deciding to trust the Yondaime, he nodded his head to signify that, indeed, he had intended to slay Uchiha Shisui. But how did Yondaime know that he was attempting this in order to gain the evolved sharingan?

_"Why would you seek this power, Itachi? Why would you do so at the cost of a fellow shinobi? That action is treasonous. But that is not the biggest issue here. Tell me, Itachi...do you wish to be a pawn?"_

Itachi had a feeling where this conversation could be heading, but decided to hear it out in it's entirety.

_"Information that has been brought to my attention indicates that activity within your clan supports my theories. And that theory is that your father intends to use you, with the upgraded sharingan, to try and make a power move in the village. Unfortunately, without any kind of legitimate proof, I do not have the power, even as Hokage, to deal with this situation. But you do, Itachi._

_"You have the opportunity to shun Fugaku's attempts and hinder his progress. This action might lead him to either quit all together, or make a careless mistake. Now, I know this is may be a hard decision for you, Itachi, for you very well may be labeled as a traitor in the eyes of your clan but..."_

At that point, the Hokage had stopped speaking. The reason, a sudden spike in Itachi's chakra. _"Hokage-sama...if what you say is true...then I would rather deal with the issue myself...befitting of this cursed clan."_

_"I will not authorize anything of that nature. You may be angry, but you must remain calm. There may be other..._factors_...in this matter that may be prevalent, and I will need that information. Besides, not all of the clan is cursed. You must think of your younger brother before you do anything rash and foolish. And you will need to look after him. For when you shun Fugaku, he will likely move on to Sasuke. I need you to stick with this plan, and keep your little brother on a straight path. This will be considered a high-class secret, S-class mission. Can you do this for me, Uchiha Itachi?"_

(End Recollections)

The visions of that night fazed out and allowed Itachi to soak it all in once again. After that night, he had successfully shunned all subliminal attempts by his father to gain the Mangekyou, and grudgingly became a more _'brotherly'_ figure to Sasuke. All the while, keeping close to Fugaku in order to investigate any clan actions without anyone becoming suspicious, and reported to the Hokage on a regular basis. And for the first time in a long while, he was becoming content with his path.

But now, doubt was creeping into his own mind. If he had possession of the Mangekyou, would Xozen Garrett even had been a threat? Would he have been defeated by that person from Akatsuki...and that was when he remembered something that stood out from that encounter.

Confronting the darkness that clouded him, he fought through and forced light into the haze. His eyes opened and were attacked by the harsh fluorescent lights of the hospital, his ears picking up the hum of equipment and the sharp, short bursts of sound that accompanied the previously mentioned equipment as it monitored a patient's status.

Sitting up, straining multiples of wires and tubes attached to his person, he looked around the keep, seeking any person who would listen. His gaze settled upon Uchiha Shisui, who was sitting patiently, but also with a look of surprise adorning the young man's face. "Itachi-san, you're awake?!"

"I must speak with Hokage-sama, as soon as possible, Shisui."

----------------

Meanwhile, in another room of the hospital, Arashi was looking over written statements from multiple parties involved with the incident of the previous day. From guards stationed around the village and at the gates, to those stationed at and around the Forest of Death. But nothing was fitting together correctly.

_'How is it that no one noticed Garrett, or the two from Akatsuki? Did they have some sort of concealment technique? Maybe those from Akatsuki possessed such an ability, but not Garrett. He probably lacks the capacity to maintain such abilities. To hide a chakra signature of that magnitude, that must mean he had assistance. From Orochimaru? Possible, but still...how is it that not even I sensed him until he was already in direct combat? It doesn't make any sense?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by a nurse walking in with a medic-nin. Standing up immediately, showing that no signs of pain or discomfort were hindering any physical actions, he stood ready to receive the information requested.

"What do you have to report?" questioned Arashi to the medics.

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Hatake Kakashi has shown no more ill effects from whatever overcame him. He doesn't seem to recall anything that happened. Both Hagane Kotetsu and Kamizuki Izumo received minor injuries, as did Mitarashi Anko. Shiranu Genma suffered a fracture to his left fibula and damage to the left knee's ACL, MCL, and PCL from the large tree branch that fell on the leg. Hyuuga Hizashi has a multitude of pinpoint chakra burns across his body. It is believed that that is from whatever shielding technique he used during the confrontation.

"The last person, Vander, is a stranger issue still. He exhibits no physical signs of damage, no depletion of chakra, nothing pressing. Yet, his body is under strain and exhausted. It is a phenomenon that has left me, and several others in this building who are my colleagues, baffled. Whatever he did to assist you and Uchiha Itachi in recovery took a deep, yet untraceable, toll on his body."

The fact that the medics in the hospital had no idea as to what was wrong with Vander did not surprise him in the least. It was a hard concept to grasp, and even more so to explain. If he hadn't seen it, and heard it, from Vander, then he would be confused as well.

At that moment, Hayate walked in to the room. The special jounin and ANBU member stood at immediate attention before bowing in a display of respect. Arashi still, even after so many years, found it difficult to accept the formalities of the title he possessed. "Hokage-sama, I'm sorry if I am intruding, but I was made aware that you wished to receive notification of when the second portion of the Chuunin Exams was complete. As per your request, I have the information for you." Hayate then handed over several sheets of papers to him.

Skimming over wordy sections, he sought the contestants who would participate in the next portion. What he saw surprised him. "Seven teams passed, eh? And no individuals wish to drop out."

"No sir. Given your condition, and your request, we post-poned the final conclusion of the second exam for one day. No doubt that with an extra day to rest, no one will have any intention of dropping out."

"Then we'll have a first for the village...an odd number of combatants...fighting for a position in the Third Exam. Interesting." Grazing over the names, he was surprised by what he saw._ 'Hmm, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata did manage to complete the second exam...good. Cell Eight did as well, as did Cell Ten. Hmm...Maito Gai's team made it as well. Two Hyuugas in the same exam from different branches. The Suna Siblings made it, as I thought. The lone team from Sound made it as well. And Vander's squad made it. He'll be happy to hear that.'_

His thoughts and musings were interrupted again when another party entered the room. This person was Shisui, which raised his hopes. "Hokage-sama, Itachi-san has requested a chance to speak with you on a matter of importance."

"Very well. Is he coherent?"

"I believe so," answered Shisui. He knew that Shisui wasn't exactly sure, but it did not matter. If Itachi had the capacity to ask for a meeting, then that was proof enough for him.

Walking over to the dresser, ignoring the protests of the nurse about not overdoing anything, he dressed in a more formal attire befitting a Hokage, instead of the bland and uncomfortable garbs assigned to patients in hospitals. Once dressed and taking a deep breath, he walked out of the room and followed Shisui to Itachi's room and stepped inside.

Itachi was sitting up in the bed, but seemed to be lost in deep thought. Clearing his throat, he watched with amusement as Itachi became startled by the sudden intrusion. After a brief moment for Itachi to regain composure, Arashi assaulted the issue head on.

"Itachi, Shisui tells me you needed to speak about some pressing matter. What might this be?"

"It's about the incident with the two individuals wearing black cloaks with red clouds."

"You mean the two believed to be involved with the criminal organization, Akatsuki?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama. When I attacked the one who seemed to be the leader of that small group, I recall seeing something that raises many questions, and is of a grave matter involving..._my mission_."

Arashi, catching on, immediately pivoted on the spot, spinning around to look at the door. Ensuring it was closed, he placed a tag with a seal on it and made handseals necessary to maintain secrecy of any subject matter spoken in the room. "Alright, you have my attention."

"He spoke to me before counter-attacking. He said that while my eyes were strong..._his_ were stronger. At that moment...I saw his eyes shift..." Taking a moment before continuing, Itachi seemed to be looking for the right way to say what would be said next. "The phenomena that I witnessed...his eyes, shifted to resemble something of a mutated sharingan. If I am correct...then this man possessed the Mangekyou. He is an Uchiha."

"..." He was speechless. This was not what he was expecting, and it definitely was a serious matter. But the matter was only as serious as the possibilities of several factors. "Itachi, Shisui. I want you two to continue with your regular mission and follow the same parameters. The only difference is that I would like for you two to try and locate any documents that might detail any clan history. If this man is an Uchiha, then the location of the majority of the clan should contain proof of an Uchiha who has ascended in power. He might either be a rogue, cast off of the clan, or he might never have resided here, but with others in another area.

"Do not put yourself in any predicament that would reveal your true purpose. Try to gain this information without raising suspicions of those who might be loyal to Fugaku. That is all for now. Itachi, rest up and get back on your feet as quickly as possible."

"Hai, Hokage-sama. I have one last question. My injury...how is it that it was healed without leaving any scarring whatsoever?"

"My friend, Vander, states that he is not as talented a med-nin as Tsunade, but he's got a trump card in grave situations. That's as much as I can say. Ask him when he's awake, if you like. I'm sure he would be willing to let you in on that little secret."

Turning back towards the door leading out of Itachi's room, he removed the seal he placed on the room and walked out into the hallway, and slumped into a bench to try and process his thoughts. _'An Uchiha in Akatsuki, eh? This can only mean trouble. Fortunately the next portion of the second exam will start soon. Hopefully I'll be able to enjoy it.'_

However, a small commotion coming from a short distance down the hall had caught his attention. Several medical personnel were arguing with each other in a rather audible volume. Arashi chose to seek out whatever may be cause for such distress, but upon approaching the gathering, he overheard something that turned his blood into ice. Kakashi had disappeared from his room, and the room containing Vander was locked and unbreachable._  
_

-------------------------

A petulantly persistent tapping could be heard coming from a waiting room in a tower positioned strategically in the middle of a dense, dangerous forest.

The tapping was coming from the anxious feet of a blonde teenager sporting a headband with the symbol for _'Leaf'_ on his forehead. Decked out in an amber jacket with long, black sleeves and pants of the same variety, Uzumaki Naruto was unconsciously testing the patience of his teammate, Sasuke.

They had had it out a number of times since the team as a whole made it into the tower successfully. Frustration over the series of events that had unfolded was setting in and it made for the two rivals to be at each other's throats. It might have escalated to a minor brawl had their conditions not been a pressing matter requiring rest.

Hinata had been the cooler head in the situation, but she had had a hard time trying to maintain the cohesiveness of the team. Both Naruto and Sasuke had felt a massive dip in the chakra level of the people important to them who were associated in the battle with Garrett.

What was still unknown to them was how suddenly the signatures ascended back to normal levels, as though it were merely a fluke phenomenon.

After the situation with the genin team from Kumo, they had made it as far as possible, given their condition at the time. During the evening, they had guests who came by. The team from Kagegakure had stopped by, claiming to have 'been in the neighborhood.' Even Hinata had laughed at the crack comment. But when tensions rose again, they had taken their leave. But not before offering some assistance. Their reason for this was simple, as far as Kid was concerned. "We like you, simple as that."

Their assistance came in the form of a trump card. An ace in the hole, so to speak. Apparently, the scrolls that the teams were supposed to be collecting had a mechanism designed into them that Kid had discovered after performing a diagnostic check on the scroll itself. The scrolls had a mechanism transferred into them that acted as a trigger. This trigger was pulled whenever the scroll was activated, which would happen when one would put the scroll in the door of the tower. Once the trigger was pulled, it would send you back to where the scroll was originally located, which also possess a receiver seal, that acted as a beacon receiver. With the trigger pulled, a jolt of chakra would activate the receiver seal, and would, in turn, activate an underlying seal which acted as the transporter.

To fix the problem, one of two things needed to be done. Either you had to disable the receiver seal, which was near impossible. The only other way was to release the trigger so it couldn't be pulled. That was easy to do, so he did it for them, while commenting to Naruto that whoever designed these scrolls was a genius, which made Naruto blush uncharacteristically.

That ended up being another reason for Sasuke's mood. While he tended to have a short thread of patience, his tension was much higher than normal. The reason was probably because they used the help of someone else in order to pass the second exam. But Naruto had responded with an uncaring retort: "A win is a win in my books."

But now, after being in the tower for a whole day and a half, Naruto's own patience was wearing thin and he found it hard to keep his anxiety down. What had happened to stall the exam? What would be on the next portion of the exam? How many others had passed?

Trying to take his mind off of the issue at hand, he looked over to Hinata, who was squirming due to discomfort. With a scowl, he remembered that Hinata had been cut across her back pretty badly, and the poison from the metal claws of that Kumo bastard had made it difficult for healing to go well.

Looking towards Sasuke, their eyes met for a moment before the Uchiha got the message. While Sasuke would probably admit that he had had better days, his time dealing with the issue of overheating his body was a concern of the past. With a quick glance between him and Hinata, he stood up and patted off his clothes, trying to act nonchalant. "I'm gonna go for a walk. I'll be outside if you need me."

When the door closed, Naruto watched as Hinata continued to shift uncomfortably, trying to alleviate the pain she must be feeling. When he approached her, she looked at him, realized they were alone, lowered her head and strained to not move. "Hinata, it's okay. I don't mind helping you." When he saw her tense and shudder slightly, he knew it was time to broach this topic with her. He had finally caught on the subtle signs, but he had had a hard time trying to figure when to speak with her about it. It was apparent, it had to be now.

"Hinata-chan...do you really think that you are a burden?" When her head snapped up and her eyes were wide, he knew he was treading on thin, fragile ice. He needed to be gentle with his words for he didn't want to hurt her. "Hinata, the reason I help you like I do is not because I feel you are weak or because I think that you can't handle things yourself. I think you are a strong kunoichi. You are definitely not a burden to me and you never have been. I want to help you because I want to help my teammate and my friend. Maybe I'm a little over-bearing sometimes, and for that, I'm sorry. Okay?"

A smile almost threatened to break on her face before it was squashed by her head ducking low again. He smiled and chuckled at the antics of his best friend. "Now, I don't want this to come out the wrong way, but I need you strip down so I can get to your back, okay?"

A blush exploded across her face as she shifted uncomfortably again. But this time, she did not resist the request. She turned gingerly, unzipping her bulky jacket and discarding it with a relieved sigh. The shirt she wore underneath the jacket was in shambles; at least, that was what it looked like from the back. Cuts in the fabric matched the claw marks left on her skin underneath the shirt. Removing the shirt carefully, she sat on her knees, feet underneath her, arms around her front to hide any unwarranted peepers from seeing her in this state of undress - even though she had bandaging across her chest to cover that area of her anatomy.

Telling her he needed to undo those bandages, she simply nodded and cut them as they fell away to reveal her back to be bare. Now he could work. Quickly, he began molding chakra in the procedure his mother had taught him, performing a diagnostic check on the injury.

The cuts were healing, but still not fast enough. The poison was no longer acting as an infectant. That had already been taken care of. But it had seeped into the skin surrounding the wound, creating difficulty for the body to heal the damage done. He would have to do it himself, at this point. But since he was not that skilled, he would need to have another agent assist him. Reaching into his pouch, he retrieved some ointment - the very same that Hinata had given him as a gift - and applied it to the wound carefully.

Trying to ignore her hiss of pain at the application of the healing solvent, he began feeding medicinal chakra into the wound once again, but this time, using the medicine as an amplifier. It provided a temporary cessation to the tainted tissue's inability to mend, and allowed the immuno-properties of the local blood cells to take action against the injury.

The process took a good twenty to thirty minutes, but Naruto didn't care. The same with Hinata. Every minute that passed, the pain ebbed away steadily. When they finally finished, they both rested a bit until Sasuke returned. Evening came, with word that the next morning would bring about news of the next portion of the exam. Eager and anxious, Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all had trouble going to sleep, but managed it nonetheless.

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The rays of the morning sun filtered into the small room, thanks to a window positioned conveniently on the very side of the rising sun. The light snaked it's way across the cold floor, and drenched the walls in the essence of morning. But no person came under it's glare. If the sun actually had a personality, then it would probably be disappointed at this tidbit of information.

There were no late sleepers this morning. Every shinobi and kunoichi belonging to a team that had cleared the Forest of Death had awoken before sun-up and were making their way toward the designated gathering area.

Thirty minutes after sun-up, the teams that had passed were all gathered together in a room resembling a small stadium. Naruto noticed this as he saw two large overhangs with stairs leading to the areas, and an overhang on the far wall that all the teams were facing.

The reason for this was because the Yondaime Hokage of Konohagakure stood proudly on this platform, donned in the traditional garb of the Hokage. To his left was a spiky, gray-haired shinobi with his hitai-ite covering his left eye and a ninja mask concealing his lower face. On the right of the Hokage was a large man with red face paint and a rather large mane of white hair. An audible tension was hushed into a deafening silence as the Hokage raised his hand to command the attention of the shinobi and kunoichi present.

"I would like to extend a congratulations to you who have successfully made it into the tower as was your objective. While only seven teams remain, it is more than expected. The level shown to this point is a great foundation. Your teamwork and ability as a cohesive unit is exemplary and you should all be proud.

"However, there is a third exam yet to be taken, and not everyone here can participate in that portion." The commotion that quickly ensued that statement was hushed just as quickly from yet another raising of the hand from the Yondaime. "I know this must be a bit perplexing to you all, but what must be, must be. From this point on, the only way you can support your team is through words and hope. You will not be permitted to work as a team any further in this exam.

"In order to finalize the participants for the third and final portion of this Chuunin Selection Exam, you will all be called upon to participate in one-on-one battles to determine the final participants. To the victor of their battle comes a pass into the next exam. From here, I will allow the designated proctor of this part of the exam to explain the rules." Bowing his head to the teams on the floor, and a motion of his hand for them to turn their attention to the proctor mentioned, he took a seat as the rules were explained.

"I am Gekkou Hayate, and I am your proctor for these one-on-one fights. With there being an odd number of combatants, one such fight will be a three-way battle with the last one capable of continuing to fight being the victor. The opponents will be chosen at random, and the names will be revealed on the panel present behind me."

On cue, a panel of the wall moved away to give way to a black screen. A cough from the proctor jerked attention back to him so that the explanation could continue.

"These fights will go on until one person is unable to continue fighting, but if I deem that the match is over, then it is over. Do not make me have to use force to stop a match. No restrictions, all ninja tools are available for use. If there are no questions..." Here, he gave pause to see if there would be any questions. When it appeared there would not be any, he continued yet again. "...then the first two names for the matches will be displayed in just a few moments, if you would look to the board."

All curious gazes turned towards the black electronic board for the naming of the first two combatants. First to appear on the board was the name of the round, which was obviously the first round. It was followed by a shifting of names, with a 'versus' symbol in between the two names.

With bated breath and anxious nerves, all chuunin hopefuls watched as the first two names were revealed.

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Alas, this is where it must end. Not as bad a cliffhanger as Seventeen's was, but I think it serves it's purpose of keeping you wondering and wanting. As for the fights, some of the pairings have been decided, but not all. I am up for suggestions, if you have any. Feel free to give me your idea and I might consider it. If you are wondering who are in the finals, refer back to Arashi's hospital scene in this chapter for that information.

So, what did you think. I hope it was worth the wait, these were surprisingly difficult to put together, but the chapters have been made. I was a little disappointed with how this chapter played out, but I hope it was enjoyable. I do anticipate to have the next chapter up within the month, but life can always throw me another curve ball. I can only hope for the best. As for the next chapter: _Like gladiators, they clash. Shinobi and kunoichi alike battle to prove their strength and worth. The spectators scout their potential opponents in awe and wonder as each ninja performs at a level unseen by any other. Their best performance saved for this moment, each ninja rises to the occasion as: _The Preliminaries Commence.


	19. Chapter 19

Yes, I do live. Yes, I am back. No, I am not discontinuing the story. Yes, I will update.

Now that that is over with. Welcome back one and all! I am so, so, so, so sorry for the late update. It seems that's all I do nowadays, huh? But losing a job sucks balls. Looking for a new one is even worse.

But I finally accomplished it. I got me a job, which means I'll have a steady income, which means my life is back on track, and therefore, so is the story. Thanks to all who have not run away from the story and are still giving it a chance. I promise you won't regret it. It makes me sad that I missed the one year anniversary of this story's posting, but this should make up for it. For those of you who have had big questions dealing with a certain aspect of my story, you finally get your answer, and I hope you are satisfied with it.

As has been an issue with some of my more recent chapters, I struggled in certain areas of this one, so keep that in mind, be tolerant of any mistakes or miscalculations, and enjoy this chapter. It's a big one. Have fun!!!

Chapter Nineteen - The Preliminaries Commence

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Sasuke didn't know what to think as he gazed at the electronic board that had revealed the first two competitors. It would be he versus Inuzuka Kiba, a loud-mouthed, cocky, arrogant teenager from his graduating class. Although, if these pairings were set up to even things out, as Hayate had explained just a moment ago, then it would make some sense.

Both he and Kiba had been a bit arrogant back in the Academy, it was just Kiba was louder about it. He was probably the biggest of the genin's who graduated, and was quite strong, thanks to his harnessing of the animalistic characteristics of his family's arts.

Turning his head, he caught Naruto's eyes for a brief moment. In this moment, Naruto had all but sent a clear message to Sasuke. "Don't lose."

Sasuke would be more than happy to oblige his teammate's silent request. While Kiba may sport a more burly, physical offense, combined with impressive speed for quick and brutal strikes, Sasuke felt - no, he believed on a strong level - that he was faster and possessed better reflexes than his apparent opponent.

That was one thing Sasuke was proud of. Yamato-sensei had been a huge promoter of strengthening your strengths in order to subvert attention from weakness. He was surprisingly quick with a lean body, but lacked power. So they had worked on his speed in order to gain better reflexes. With enough speed and great reflexes, power would come from momentum.

Steadily, the remaining genin who were not involved in this fight made their way up the staircases on each side. One side consisted of the shinobi of Suna and Oto, each team's sensei standing behind them with the look of a spectator.

On the other side, Kiba's teammates, Shino and Sakura, along with Kurenai-sensei, stood next to his own teammates, Naruto and Hinata, with Yamato-sensei in the same spectator position. His observations were cut short as Hayate coughed into his hand.

"Very well. Inuzuka Kiba and Uchiha Sasuke will face off first."

"Is that little puppy of his allowed?" asked Sasuke, eye-balling the white furball atop Kiba's head.

"Of course he is. Didn't you hear the proctor? All ninja tools are allowed. Akamaru is no different." replied Kiba with an arrogant smirk and confidence oozing in every word.

"Very well, if you want him to fight with you, fine. Just don't accuse me of animal cruelty if he gets hurt in this fight."

"Don't be so smug, Sasuke-chibi."

Eyes shot daggers as the intensity began to boil. Both were itching for the signal to start to be given. Hayate took three careful steps back, looked between the two, then at them again, before bringing his left hand down in the signal. The preliminaries had begun.

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Sakura was a bit irked at how the prelims had begun. Her not-so-secret crush was paired up against one of her own teammates. Inside, she was torn. A few months ago, this wouldn't have been an issue. She would have no doubt on who she would cheer for.

But now, after having spent time with the loud and obnoxious Kiba, she had found that there were things she didn't understand that she now did.

Kiba was arrogant, smug, cocky, obnoxious, loud, and overall annoying. But at the same time, he was loyal, almost to a fault, and a very kind-hearted guy who cared about the well-being of all who he held important. This included her.

She felt a tug at herself. She felt guilty that she considered cheering for Sasuke, who seemed to not want anything to do with her, over Kiba, who was willing to do anything for her. And while the best thing to do would be to stay quiet about the whole matter, she couldn't shake the feeling that she might feel guilty for not cheering on.

She was stuck in a conundrum, and didn't know of a solution for her dilemma.

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As was mentioned before, Sasuke had speed and worked on that speed to off-set his power issues. The only problem with working on speed, was that it did not matter if your foe was either as fast, or faster, than you.

This was Sasuke's problem at the moment as he had barely managed to dodge several wild hay-makers and was staring cautiously at his opponent, seeing the arrogant teen in a new light.

"I suppose there is no way around it," he commented, giving Kiba his own version of a cocky grin. The reason was simple, for Sasuke at least. He was activating his Sharingan.

Black, onyx-like eyes became a dark shade of red as two tomes swirled into life, marking the intermediate level of the Sharingan. He yearned to unleash the mature form that his older brother possessed, but knew that he would need more time. Now all that was left was to analyze his opponent and make the appropriate counterattack.

Unfortunately, Kiba was not giving him a chance. "Let's see how useful those eyes really are, Chibi." Plucking a smoke bomb from his pouch, he threw with tremendous force, not giving Sasuke enough time to dodge. The pellet burst, unleashing a cloud of thick, purple smoke and gave another pill to Akamaru, while he chewed on the same exact pill that was fed to the white dog, now turned red.

When Sasuke tried to emerge out of the cloud of smoke, he was tackled by the small dog, who suddenly felt ten times stronger than a dog of it's stature should be. Back into the smoke he went, trying his hardest to knock the dog away and get out of the smoke, but kept getting tackled and dragged.

Finally, he was able to calm down and discern the dog's chakra among the hazy cloud and managed to back hand the mutt straight towards where he felt Kiba to be and jumped in the opposite direction. So far, his big advantage had been nullified by a meager pellet and a small dog. He would need to be wary of Kiba, from this point on.

"Well, well, seems the stoic Uchiha got his feathers ruffled. If you could barely fend off Akamaru, then you better just quit right now." When Sasuke slid into a taijutsu stance and gave a _"come hither"_ gesture of the hand, Kiba growled like his dog.

Motioning for Akamaru to climb onto his back, Kiba hunched over and made one two-handed seal before crying out his technique. Meanwhile, Akamaru yipped on the teenager's shoulders, but only Kiba knew that the yipping of his dog was actually the call of it's own jutsu. "_Shikyaku no jutsu_" was the technique Kiba called out. Akamaru's technique washed them amidst smoke that was particularly common for a henge.

From the smoke emerged two feral-looking Kiba's and it was damn near impossible for Sasuke to tell them apart, even with the activated Sharingan. This would be difficult. He could tell this because of the significant spike in chakra between the two. In this formation, Kiba and his puppy-now-man-beast were beyond formiddable.

Feeling himself already being backed into a corner, he tried to rush through several scenarios and how he should approach them. The only one that seemed logical towards his own success would be to attack in a manner that would make it difficult for Kiba to dodge or counter. He didn't want to make a mistake and run into the fray with fists flying when this new change to his opponent might make that issue difficult.

But before he could use the technique he had decided upon, the two Kiba's took action, separating to different sides of Sasuke so that he was in the middle of the two. Then they began to sprint towards him and leapt into the air. The next thing that happened was something Sasuke had seen Kiba do on their joint mission to get the Firaga Ruby. They began to spin, creating an illusion of spinning drills careening towards their intended target - him.

Using all of his peripheral skills that his vision gave him, he tried to determine what the two spinning drills were trying to do. One was coming straight for him while the other seemed to be waiting for what he, himself, would do to try and go against the approaching drill.

Just like he expected, when he dodged the first one, the second came rocketing like an arrow shot from the strongest archer to wield a bow. It was such a narrow margin that he dodged the second one that he could actually feel the violently spinning winds that accompanied the drill.

_'Wind...Didn't nii-san say that wind fueled a fire's flames?'_ thought Sasuke as he saw the two drills come around for a second go. _'Let's see if this theory pans out.'_ What he was hoping for was to avoid attacking the puppy and hit Kiba with a medium-level katon jutsu. But with the chakra being used to manipulate their bodies the way they were doing was making it harder and harder to discern the two.

As the first drill came in for another attack, Sasuke leaped over it and, molding his chakra and pulling off the right seals, launched a _goukakyu_ at the second spinning Kiba. Unfortunately, he was so caught up in the attack that he didn't notice that the first drilling Kiba had rebounded and came for another strike. Grinding along Sasuke's left side caused the attack to veer slightly off course from it's original trajectory.

Thankfully, the fireball had a kick-back effect, helping Sasuke to propel himself backwards and slightly away from the drill that attempted to strike a finishing blow. As he fell, landing hard on his right shoulder, he could hear his technique go off.

Sasuke had designed the fireball to detonate upon immediate impact, so as to not actually engulf his opponent in fire. He may be trying to win, but he wasn't going to kill to do so. While a shinobi he was, cut-throat and ruthless just didn't suit him. Falling roughly to the ground, henge dispelling as it did, Kiba's puppy, Akamaru flopped around with singed hair that was still smoking and didn't seem to hold enough power left to stand, let alone fight.

As Kiba - the real Kiba, Sasuke noted to himself - fell to the ground, huddled over his dog to check on him, Sasuke checked himself. The damage done to him by that _Gatsuuga_ was painful, but it wasn't debilitating. However, there was bleeding, indicating just enough abrasive damage was done to rip through layers of skin. And with the heat of battle came the release of adrenaline and endorphins, so it wasn't possible for Sasuke to even diagnose himself properly yet.

Standing up, wincing from the ache in his side, he took a couple of deep breaths, found some discomfort, but not enough to stop him from taking in deep breaths of air. Looking towards his opponent, he saw that Kiba was trembling - in rage, Sasuke would have to assume. Kiba's jaw was clenched so tightly that the boy's fangs could be seen. A low growl could also be heard coming from the enraged teen.

"Pretty good...for a pair of mongrels," commented Sasuke, ready to set the trap. It was up to Kiba to bite. Sure enough, his barb elicited a feral growl from his opponent. "Don't get pissed at me for trying to fight back. If you had just not let your puppy fight, it wouldn't have gotten injured." _'Just a little more'_ thought Sasuke. "So what, don't you want to _avenge_ your dog, or are you afraid to fight me by yourself?"

They locked gazes with each other, allowing Sasuke's sharingan to help him penetrate the mental blocks in the feral shinobi, and begin to systematically break away Kiba's resolve. It was a genjutsu he was taught by his father and trained in by his brother that, even with the intermediate level of the Sharingan, one could manipulate an opponent's mind-frame, destroying their resolve.

To shinobi, resolve could be many things. If you were to tear away the resolve of a shinobi who feared battle, you could turn them into a cowering mess and make them wish to retreat. Sasuke was tearing away the resolve of Kiba, who had animalistic urges, which meant he could destroy any thought or reason behind Kiba's actions.

With another growl, followed quickly by an enraged roar, Kiba sprung into action, gripping the floor with his claw-like hands, and leapt for his opponent. But Sasuke was all too aware of the Inuzuka's intended attack, having seen it several times at the beginning of their fight. When Kiba was within striking distance, Sasuke parried a right claw hay-maker with his left hand and grinned. "It's over."

Stepping into Kiba's forward momentum, he drove his right elbow into the middle of the torso. The gagging and sputtering that followed was all he needed to hear in order to know the effectiveness of his blow, but that wouldn't be enough. Kiba was like an animal, damn near half-beast. It would take more than a good shot to the sternum to end this.

Following his attack, he released the caught right hand and swung his freed left hand in a knife-edge chop, palm facing the ceiling, to the right side of Kiba's neck, forcing the vertebral bones stationed there to contort and groan from the strain. Then he swung his right fist into Kiba's stomach, which slightly knocked the boy off his feet, but he wasn't done, still. Another punch to Kiba's gut from the left fist helped propel Kiba further into the air, followed by another right fist, another left, and finally, a final right fist. Each consecutive strike brought Sasuke closer to Kiba and helped set him up for the grand finale.

Rolling onto his back, and then onto his hands, which were positioned on each side of his head, Sasuke put all of his weight and strength into his arms as he positioned his feet for the next step of his combo that he had been itching to test. Using all the strength his arms could muster, he propelled himself into the air, his legs extending and his feet connecting directly with Kiba's jaw.

With his foe now launched high enough into the air, Sasuke landed back on his feet only to jump as high as he could manage, which just happened to be the ceiling. Applying chakra to his feet, he watched patiently as Kiba began to arch out of the attack and head for the ground, head first, still out of it and not able to recover. Everything was going exactly as he had practiced and simulated it would. Crouching on the ceiling, he launched himself at the unsuspecting victim, which was an appropriate title for Kiba now, given that as long as he finished the combo exactly as predicted, then Kiba would become a hapless victim.

As he got within appropriate distance of Kiba, Sasuke angled his body so that his head was at Kiba's feet and vice versa, but it wasn't enough of a shift in angle that it would stop his momentum. Sasuke flowed into the fall and the shift in angle, now in perfect position. Locking his legs through Kiba's arms and across the boy's chest, he gripped Kiba's pant's legs with his hands and they both careened toward the ground. In this position, it looked as if Sasuke was trying to piledrive Kiba into the ground head first.

That was exactly what happened too. With a devastating and sickening crunch upon contact with the ground, Sasuke released Kiba, who just flopped to the ground, out cold. Not really noticing the puppy, who's fur had returned to it's original white, walking up to be at it's master's side, he turned to look at the proctor, who nodded to him.

"Winner of the first match, Uchiha Sasuke" spoke Hayate, just incase it wasn't obvious enough.

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After his soft-spoken declaration, he called for a medical unit to come in and retrieve Kiba. Kurenai had come down to speak with the medic who had performed a preliminary diagnostic check of Kiba to see if anything serious had happened. The medic told her that he was going to be sore in his abdomen for a few days and he'll probably suffer from a moderate concussion, but it was nothing life-threatening.

Sighing in relief, she cast a dangerous glare at Sasuke who was looking at her. She knew that these fights could get aggressive, and all the genin should be willing to do anything to win, but to her it seemed unnecessary for Sasuke to go about gaining his victory that way. They were of the same village, so didn't that count for something?

Walking back up the steps to the balcony where the rest of her team was located, she was questioned by Sakura almost immediately. "Kurenai-sensei, will Kiba be alright?"

It was almost unbelieveable how much the girl had changed over the past month or so. Since the joint mission with Team Seven, the pink-haired girl had been more tolerable and willing to train hard. It was like she had a hidden motive and an inspiration, and whatever it was, it was helping Sakura. Relations within the team had improved as well, and Sakura became more amiable towards her teammates, letting go of her disdain at their quirks, and they her's.

Smiling warmly at her pupil, she told Sakura that Kiba would just be a bit sore and have a bad headache, but nothing more serious than that. Sakura sighed in relief and turned back so that she, like everyone else, could view the electronic black screen.

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Naruto was a bit surprised, just like Kurenai, that Sasuke would use such a move like that piledriver, which could cause serious, crippling damage to the recipient. But apparently, Kiba was alright, so he just let it go. When Sasuke made it back to stand with he and Hinata, Naruto sent a knowing smirk and a nod of approval, not really needing to say _'Good job'_ or anything like that.

But now that the match was over, Naruto had a little bit of time to stew on these preliminary matches. These fights were a brutal form of analyzing each other's potential. He tried to think of why they would need them to do something like this before the third exam. The only possible explanation that Naruto could think of was that the third exam would be held at a later date.

Another thing he found curious was this need for _thinning the crowd_. All throughout the exam, there seemed to be some sort of urgency to thin the number of participants. He recalled overhearing the second exam's proctor, Anko, making light that her portion of the exam would whittle down the numbers of the hopefuls, guaranteed.

The last thing was what the proctor of these match-ups said about the odd number of participants remaining. If everything went off without a hitch, then by the time these fights were through, then ten would remain. All of these factors could mean many things, but not one possibility stood out.

_'Could it be that the third portion of the exam might be dedicated to another round of one against one match-ups?' _he thought to himself. That would make the most sense. The lessening of the numbers through successive portions of this exam, leading to one last tournament to establish the most worthy to be chuunin. So drawn in to his own thoughts was Naruto, that he almost didn't hear the proctor.

"The next match's participants will now be shown," spoke the proctor, drawing all attention to the black board. The names that appeared were Aburame Shino and Yamanaka Ino. Having witnessed how crafty and cunning Shino is when in a fight, Naruto had a hard time believing that Ino would stand much chance. She was a friend of Hinata's, therefore a friend of his as well, but she never put much effort into her training. Maybe she would surprise him.

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Then again, maybe not. It lasted barely five minutes, before Shino's bugs had swarmed her body, turning her into a shrieking mess. Ino did not keep secret her detest for _icky_ bugs, and Shino had always creeped her out with his use of insects. So Shino merely played against her fears, making her submit in a display that was half-comical, half-pitiful. Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto saw Shikamaru and Chouji both shaking their heads in disappointment, while their rather large sensei had his hand gripping his face - out of frustration or embarrassment, Naruto was unsure.

As they both climbed the stairs back up to the balcony, Hayate had called for attention to be given to the board once again for match-ups. An intriguing match-up indeed was displayed as Sabaku no Temari would go against Elru. Naruto thought it curious that the girl from Kid's team held no last name, but then he quickly realized that all of that team had not given any last names. A curious thing to lack, he thought, so he resolved to ask about that at some point. But right now, at this current moment, Naruto was more interested in watching what he had deemed as an enigma in the kunoichi from Kagegakure.

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Down on the floor, the two kunoichi faced each other, sizing each other up. Or, at least that's what it seemed like, but with the bandages over Elru's eyes, it was still hard to tell what she was doing. Temari sent a vicious sneer at the opposing kunoichi. "What luck?! I get matched up against a blind female. This is going to be easier than that Forest was."

"You should not judge a book by it's cover, kunoichi of Suna. These bandages may conceal my eyes, but I am not blind."

Hayate looked between the two, as he had done in the previous matches, and brought his left hand down in the motion for the fight to commence. Temari wasted little time in reaching behind her and setting her large fan down on the ground. Undoing the buckle on it, she opened it up to reveal three blue circles. "Let's just test that theory," she shouted as she brought it behind her, and then swung, unleashing a miniature windstorm.

The air became distorted as the force that the fan had unleashed spilled across the space between the two kunoichi. The one who this attack was meant for brought her arms up to shield herself and was forced several feet back from the windy assault. As the winds died down, Elru sprinted into action, dashing at her opponent with amazing speed.

As she approached Temari, Elru extended her left arm out, pointing it to the ground, a twitch from that arm causing a small metallic tube to slip out from the sleeve. Gripping it like one would the handle of a blade, she brought the arm up and then swung back down toward the ground, causing the metallic tube to extend into a staff. Temari saw that Elru was swinging the staff horizontally to counter a return swing of the fan. Gripping the fan tightly in her hands, she closed it and brought it across her body to block the staff.

What occurred was baffling to the sandy-haired blonde kunoichi, as the metallic edges of her fan blocked the thin, metallic frame of Elru's staff, and shook her entire body from the aftershocks. Such was the force of the collision that Temari momentarily lost hearing and almost saw stars.

Once she finally regained some composure, Temari managed to speak to her opponent. "That's some walking stick you have there." she joked, her adrenaline beginning to pump. The Suna kunoichi was always considered to be a bit of a tom-boy and always liked a good fight, not afraid to get a little dirt on her clothes, so to speak. "This could be a good fight. Let's make this last, shall we?"

With that, she pushed Elru away, and then swung her closed fan around horizontally, only to be blocked by Elru's staff. They had switched roles for a brief moment before Elru planted one end of her staff into the ground and used it as javelin, propelling herself towards Temari, trying to kick the young girl.

Temari, reacting quickly, rolled backwards, taking her weapon with her, and avoided Elru's attack. Once on her feet again, she moved into melee position, bringing her fan down and using it in the same way Elru had used the staff just a moment ago. Unlike Elru, however, Temari was successful, planting a hard kick in Elru's gut.

The bandaged-eyed girl coughed a bit, but had no time to try and recover in peace. Temari was pressing the advantage, having opened the fan once again, swinging it and unleashing another windstorm, but this one was much stronger than the first one had been. Elru had no hope of shielding herself or countering to defend, and the winds threw her back, tumbling across the ground painfully, her clothing ripping from the force.

Temari watched as her opponent struggled to stand, her mouth moving, muttering words that went unheard, but they kept moving in the same manner, as if her opponent was repeating something. Ignoring the curious side to her, she tightened every muscle in her two arms and two legs, stepping into the motion and swinging her fan with all her might. "This ends it!" she shouted, unleashing her strongest attack. She couldn't understand it, but there was something unnerving about Elru. It wasn't like the fear she felt towards her little brother, but it wasn't entirely unlike it either.

The torrent of air zipped through the air, threatening to practically destroy the young girl, but Elru didn't falter. She gripped her staff tightly, her mantra being repeated steadily louder, until she was in a full standing position, facing the impending stormy winds head on, with a determined expression etched on her face. "I cannot lose. I made a promise!" she shouted against the howling ferocity of Temari's attack and swung her staff.

Through the mass of swirling winds and the distortions in the air, it was hard to tell exactly what had happened. But Temari believed that no one could overcome that attack head-on. While she tended to only use the fan she wielded to unleash concentrated miniature windstorms, she did know that this was the strongest one she could produce using this method. _'This fight should be over'_, she told herself, repeating a mantra of her own.

But when she felt the disturbance, as well as her kunoichi instincts firing off, she instantly knew that it wasn't going to go the way she thought - and hoped - it would. Sending chakra to her eyes the way she had been trained to, she was able to see through all of the disturbance, and realizing that the reason behind the disturbance no longer existed for it's original purpose.

Surprised didn't quite express her reaction to Elru's counter. The girl had swung the staff she wielded in a manner to counter the flow of her wind, effectively halting the advance of the technique. Then she swung once more in a downward arc, parting and creasing the storm, which then dissipated, leaving a panting Elru amidst the weakened remnants of swirling wind.

Growling in frustration, she stood up straight and looked towards Elru, unsure of what to do next. If this girl knew how to disrupt her attacks, then what could she do? Thinking quickly, she tried to piece together an eventual scenario, based on her understanding of all the factors taken into account so far. The conclusion she came to was risky but if pulled off correctly, would work like a charm.

Her opponent was basically wielding a blade, with the way it cut across the air, but only when slashing through the air at a particular speed. Temari's fan was designed to unleash winds with minimal effort, but a thin object like her opponent's staff was not. If her estimations were correct, then it took a full-powered swing in order to create enough resistance. But if she could hinder Elru, then she might be able to capitalize and overwhelm her kunoichi opponent.

As the daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage, she refused to be outdone by this girl from an unknown village. _'I won't be shown up. Not now.'_ she declared to herself. Wrapping a length of strong wire around the butt of her fan and tying it securely, she closed the fan and rushed her opponent. When in striking distance, the two exchanged attacks, as well as impressive blocks, with their respective weapons. Temari shouted in frustration as she jumped back a few feet to avoid an attack from Elru, and threw her closed fan at the girl.

When Elru dodged and ran at her, Temari smirked in triumph. The girl had walked right into the trap. Pulling on the wire she still gripped in her hands, the fan came back into her waiting arms. Unfolding it, her grin grew wider as she realized this would probably do it. "It's over!" she shouted in elation.

Bringing it around to unleash her attack, she was surprised to see Elru had already dug that damned staff into the ground and used it to vault over her and avoid the attack. But Temari, already seeing Elru's planned method of escaping assault, closed the fan in mid-swing and pivoted around to face her opponent, who had just landed.

Rushing to greet the girl in a most unfriendly manner, she brought the fan down to club Elru mightily. Caught up in the act of seizing the moment, Temari did not even register how much she had been played. Within a mere few feet from Elru, Temari's fan was met with resistance. Pulling on it, she managed to catch the glint from the lights in the room off of a thin, metallic wire, connecting the butt of her fan to the staff driven into the ground.

_'Unbelieveable,'_ she thought to herself. _'When did she manage to pull that off?'_ It wasn't much, but it was enough of a surprise that hindered Temari just enough to allow Elru a chance. With fingers intertwined, Elru's hands began to shimmer in a darkened glow, then the glow spread across the arms, then it happened with the legs and continued on until the glow encompassed the entirety of the kunoichi's frame. A dull hum was produced through the hazy glow, but the voice of the young girl rang out, declaring her technique.

"_Kumori Hirameki!_"

Temari, quick to get into a position that would be more favorable towards her defense against whatever this technique was, reached for a kunai in her pouch and brought one out, quickly cutting the wire. Not even bothering with sheathing the small tool, she simply dropped it and gripped her fan with both hands. Furiously applying as much chakra as she could into her legs and arms, she strained each muscle required in order to attack quickly.

But as soon as she had started the movement of bringing the fan around, she was caught speechless as the said object was blown from her hands, and she was blown from where she was standing backwards several yards. The impact, whatever it was that had hit her, was impressive, leaving her debilitated for several moments. When she managed to gather her senses, she looked up to see that Elru was right where she had been just a moment ago. It was only a second ago that she and Elru held distance between them, but then that one second's time elapsed and now she was on her back.

But the most prominent aspect of this strange cycle of events was that Temari felt like she had been put through the ringer with her sensei. The amount of force behind whatever that attack or technique was, was great enough to leave her spent. She couldn't move, couldn't even think of it, and if she could, she doubted that she would. There was no more will in her to continue this fight.

"You're a lot stronger than you look, girl." spoke Temari, giving a rare compliment to an adversary.

"I believe we are both guilty of underestimating the other in this fight, Temari-san." responded Elru, almost sounding disappointed with her confession.

"I just have one question. When did you manage to tie the wire from your staff to my fan?" asked Temari, still perplexed about how the young girl managed to pull that feat off.

"You have the sequence of events backwards. You think I had the wire tied to the staff from the beginning and was waiting to tie it to your fan. But that is inaccurate. When you blocked one of my swings, I took the opportunity to attach an open end of the wire to your fan. But it wasn't until I drove my staff into the ground that I attached the other end to the staff." Her response left Temari amused. If it had been the other way around, it would have made the girl seem highly unnaturally talented. But this way, she seemed only intelligent. It made her feel worse. She hadn't lost to some freakishly powerful or overly talented shinobi like her younger brother, Gaara, but to a unique kunoichi with brains behind the talent.

--------------------------------------------------

Hayate called the match for Elru, as the girl returned to the overhang with her team. Temari was being assisted back up to the side with her team as well. When Elru reached her side, she was met by a beaming Naruto. "Sugoi, Elru. That was an awesome fight."

"Arigatou, Naruto-san." she responded, smiling happily, and a little proudly. Turning towards her team, Naruto saw that Kid was beaming, proud of Elru's fight. Ezekiel's face betrayed no emotion, but his eyes held a glimmer of pride and respect. Their sensei walked up to her, a bit gingerly Naruto noted, and patted the young girl's shoulder, smiling down at her in tremendous pride.

"Would you mind if I asked you what it was you did?" he asked in interest. He thought it was an innocent question, but he immediately felt the rising tension in all four people from Kagegakure.

However, when he looked towards Elru again, he saw her smiling at him. Vander seemed ready to speak for her, but she turned down the offer and answered for herself. "I'm afraid that that's my little secret for now.not tell you. Perhaps some day, Naruto-kun."

In understanding, he nodded his head as he responded "I can understand that. I'll hold you to it."

As the tension settled down, it only escalated again when the next match was revealed.

Sabaku no Gaara versus Kidremé. Kid, seeing his name on the board, stiffened for a moment, as though suddenly struck by nervous anxiety, but it was quickly squashed and replaced with an aura of confidence and enthusiasm. He walked towards the stairs leading to the battle zone, receiving hushed good luck's from his teammates and sensei.

The two young boys stopped a few feet away from each other. Gaara, arms crossed with an unreadable scowl on his face, and Kid, grinning like a child at christmas time. In an unorthodox move, Kid extended his hand to Gaara, in a display of pre-fight formality. "Let's do our best, Gaara-san."

Gaara just stared at Kid, then the hand, then back to Kid's face. Uncrossing his arms, he slowly let them drop to his side, but did not return Kid's gesture, choosing instead to glare at the proctor. A small spike in Gaara's chakra helped show his displeasure of waiting. Kid felt this spike and lowered the extended hand warily, cautious of any sudden movement from Gaara.

Kid's next action was peculiar. He turned around and looked up to his sensei, almost with a pleading expression that was saying _'Please forgive me'_ or something along those lines.

Hayate didn't seem to care for the behavior of Gaara, but brought his arm up. "Preliminary fight between Sabaku no Gaara and Kidremé of Kagegakure will now commence...BEGIN!"

After Hayate's call to start, Gaara sprung into action...or, at least, something did. The ground underneath Kid exploded, sending chunks of concrete and hardened dirt splaying out across the floor. But from the metallic-gray concrete and dark-brown dirt came a golden-tan substance - sand.

This substance moved with a life of it's own, swirling around Kid until it looked like a snake, ready to pounce from it's coiled position. As the sand slithered all the way around Kid's body, the young boy was elevated into the air. It was noted by the on-lookers that as the sand prison rose, so did Gaara's right hand, palm facing the sand he controlled.

Despite the situation, Kid managed to speak with an odd calm about him. "Well, well. So you have power over sand, eh? Interesting..."

He struggled a little against the cocoon of sand, as if testing it's stability. Gaara spoke to Kid, his words a promise, more than a threat. "Surrender now, or this will hurt."

"And by hurt, I guess you mean kill." Gaara's eyes held a small shimmer of surprise at the interpretation. "This sand reeks of blood. I can even sense the blood. It's repulsive...just how many people have you killed in your life?" Kid asked with genuine shock.

"I kill to survive. I kill to exist. And those who stand in my way, who act as obstacles, are treated as such, and removed from this world. It's how I live...how I've been forced to live." responded the red-head with a mechanical voice, holding no emotion.

Kid shivered as he assessed this revelation and his circumstance at the current moment, weighing his options, before he finally responded to Gaara's response. "Well...in that case, I guess I should be thankful you've given me an option..." joked the trapped shinobi, before his face, as well as his body, settled into one of ruthless resolve.

Without warning, a strange muffled sound came from within the cocoon of sand, followed by the sound of crackling and creaking. Surprise made it's way through everyone watching as the cocoon of sand was turned into a shell of glass. No longer resembling sand, the object it had become dropped to the ground and shattered, Kid remaining intact and unharmed.

As the two boys gazed upon the other, Kid broke the surprised silence. "Thank you for the sentiment, Sabaku no Gaara. But I'll take my chances."

"You...how..." muttered the Suna shinobi.

"When sand is introduced to a sudden surge of electricity, it solidifies into a fragile, reflective surface - glass." After his response, Kid held up his arms, giving Gaara a view of his palms. What was on Kid's palms were tattoos that looked like seals, but the designs were different on each hand, and unfamiliar to Gaara.

As Gaara was trying to analyze what the seals meant in this battle, Kid reached into a pouch on his left upper thigh and pulled out a small, slim piece of paper that had the same seal designed onto it as the hand that held it. Holding it between his fore and middle fingers, the youth spoke a silent chant before bringing the paper seal into his fisted hand and tightening, crinkling the paper. Smoke slowly, eerily crept out of the closed fist, until a hazy glow had settled upon the hand's entirety.

Taking that fist, Kid practically snarled viciously as he punched the ground, the hazy glow evaporating with the contact. The hazy glow had disappeared, but the energy that had created it was not gone. Instead, it had absorbed into the ground and was erupting. A shower of shrapnel had burst from the ground and flew with dangerous speed towards Gaara, who still remained impassive with an expression vacant of caring.

A wall of sand rose to defend Gaara, being moderately successful. The projectiles had penetrated the barrier, but still did nothing to injure the red-haired boy. Another minor spike in Gaara's chakra signified that something was about to happen with this sand. Sure enough, the wall of sand quivered, before the shrapnel imbedded in it shot out like rockets aimed for Kid.

Kid did not manage to dodge, instead opting to grab another small slip of paper - this time, from the pouch on his right side, and gripped it in the right hand, which hadn't been used so far. The smoke crept out of the fist like it had earlier with the left, but it wasn't a hazy glow like it had been with the left. It was thick like smoke, almost completely concealing the right hand, but it was apparent what Kid was doing with the appendage.

Slamming the hand down, palm open, to the ground in front of him, a surge of energy could be felt, as a strange light danced around the ground. With barely any time left before the fragments of doom would skewer the young teen, a solid wall erupted from the ground, effectively blocking the counter-attack, as the shards fell helplessly to the ground.

--------------------------------------------------

Arashi, who had been watching in earnest to see the potential of his friend's genin, was shocked at what was occurring. While, more than likely, Sabaku no Gaara would be oblivious to the workings of this Kidremé, having known Vander, it did not surprise him. This was alchemic ninjutsu, a process of funneling chakra through an alchemic design. The design would then manipulate the chakra however the design was made to. Recalling the words spoken by his friend when they were catching up earlier before the exam, he now understood how true Vander's words were.

(Flashback)

_"It's ironic. In this world, the accomplishments of all previous shinobi to make ground-breaking leaps in the development of their ability, their legacy is always cemented and looked back upon. But what very few realize, especially the pupils of such shinobi, like the Legendary Sannin of the Sandaime Hokage, is that they will be the one's to surpass the previous generation. While the Shodaime and Nidaime Hokages were exceptional forces in this world, the next generation's leader surpassed them, with the Sandaime. They might not realize it, but the man's pupils are probably stronger now than he was their age._

_"I take pride in that thought, because while other teachers may not openly say it - heck, they may even frown upon the prospect that their pupils might surpass them - it is an undeniable fact that as long as the teacher teaches the pupil to the best of their ability, then the pupil will surpass the teacher. It's natural evolution. Take one of my students for example. Kidremé has a defect in his chakra pathways that I am yet to find a way to fix. But when I met him, and decided to take him in, he knew the work that would be ahead of him to make up for his deficiency._

_"With a constant flux in his flow of chakra, he can't properly mold chakra to any kind of benefit. I told him of my style, the one I had been researching. You see, while he couldn't mold chakra through the hand seals, he had an uncanny knack for being able to convert his chakra through design. He ended up saving us some money, actually, because he was capable of making explosive notes himself. So with this ability, he was able to study under me after I told him of my research, while living the life of a shinobi. He desired to help me, and before long, he had not only assisted me, but had mastered the basic principles and fundamentals of alchemy. I have no doubts, Arashi, that he will surpass me. But I do not fear such a thing, nor do I loathe that inevitable fact, because I will always be proud that I had a hand in making something special happen in that young boy's life."_

(End Flashback)

During that conversation, Vander had described what it was they were working on perfecting. Alchemic seals, the designs of which would incorporate the theory behind the handseals that most shinobi used to execute ninjutsu. These seals would automatically mold the chakra for the person bearing the seals. And no doubt, that's what the marks on Kid's hands were.

The slips of paper that he saw Kid use the past two times were making sense of this phenomenon. On the small pieces of paper were designs of their own, that were similar to the corresponding hand's seal. And if he was correct, then when he felt the release of energy come from Kid, he was sensing the underlying dominance in the nature of the chakra.

The energy that was felt when the cocoon of sand was turned to glass had a dominant lightning chakra nature, as well as the attack that sent the shrapnel shards. And the wall was obviously earth in nature, which was perplexing. It took most shinobi, no matter how talented, years to train their chakra to accept the dominance of two natures. There were the rare - very rare, Arashi corrected himself - cases where a shinobi was blessed with multiple chakra natures. But in this case, it did not have the same feel.

To control two chakra natures meant to have exceptional chakra control. But the flux in Kid's chakra flow, as described by Vander, would make this impossible. So that meant that even if the alchemic seals did mold chakra, bending it to the will of the seal's owner, it would need control so as to not overflow the intended technique. Just like with regular ninjutsu, alchemic ninjutsu, as told from Vander, is highly dangerous if not balanced - dangerous, to those around the user and to the user himself or herself. Did that mean that the alchemic seals did more than mold chakra, but also acted as a focal point, drawing in the desired chakra? That would make sense, because then the purpose was clear for the slips of paper. They acted as triggers.

With any properly designed seal on paper, like explosive notes, they had a trigger set into it, as well as a limiter. If the small slips of paper that Kid used had the trigger designed into them properly, as well as a limiter, then he had by-passed his own weakness. Because, unlike jutsu's, where if you put too little or too much chakra into the technique it will have adverse side effects, with a written seal properly created, it would not trigger until filled with the appropriate amount of chakra, and even then, if the limiter was designed properly as well, then it would be impossible to overflow or underflow. It would merely stop taking chakra once the limit was reached and any possible excess chakra would simply wash back into the body of the owner.

It was a thrill to see this young teen overcome the challenges faced with. Even more thrilling was that Kid was the student of his friend. And adding to Arashi's delight in this spectacle was that this young shinobi was probably going to be powerful in the field that Arashi, himself, had set on the map. _'Another seal expert, eh Vander. I understand what you meant, a few weeks back. Ironic, indeed.'_

-----------------------------------------------------

The impact of the shrapnel shards hitting the barrier Kid erected was great, but the sturdy wall stood against the punishment, enduring and lasting. What Kid did not take into account, however, was that with a large wall in front of him, his vision was impaired. Therefore, he did not know that just beyond the wall was a swarming mass of sand controlled by his opponent.

At the last second, he heard the shuffling sound and leapt from his blind spot to avoid three different tendrils of sand. The speed at which the tendrils attacked the spot he was at just moments ago was incredible. But he could not react quickly enough when out of the sand emerged Gaara, showing more emotion than he had so far. Frustration was evident with the scowl that adorned his features, and in his frustration, the sand swirled and decimated the wall behind him.

An involuntary shiver raced through Kid's spine as he looked upon the fearsome suna shinobi, now coming to grips with the level of difficulty this would prove to be. Earlier, when he had been able to _feel_ the blood in the sand, he had desired to destroy Gaara for causing such havoc in such a short amount of time. But he hadn't taken into account that in order to have killed so many people, that Gaara would undoubtedly possess great strength. It was a foolish miscalculation that left the young boy feeling rather humiliated.

But now was not the time for him to dwell, to pity himself for his arrogance. He could not hold back anymore. Dodging out of the way as more tendrils of sand soared and tried to smash him into the ground, he continued to use his slips of paper and the alchemic jutsus he seemed to have an endless supply of to counter-attack and renew the assault on Gaara. But it was a losing battle. The sand would not only attack for Gaara, but it would also block for him. It quickly changed from a battle of attack/counter-attack, to simply attack/defend, with Gaara being the aggressor.

After taking a rather painful blow from a tendril of sand that caught him like a large tail of a great beast and smashed him into the ground, Kid seemed to have the most defeated look upon his face as he spat out some blood, rubbed more away from his mouth, and looked up towards his teammates and sensei.

It seemed as though everyone was drawn to the odd spectacle, as all eyes seemed to divert from shifting between Kid and Gaara to shifting between Kid and his team. "I'm sorry" was spoken from Kid, his voice sounding like a person disappointed and disgusted with something. Reaching behind him, he pulled from a concealed position a thin, long scroll and unraveled it quickly, not wanting to waste anymore time than was needed for this apparent gut-wrenching action.

Up on the balcony, Ezekiel was livid, his teeth bared in a demonstration of his frustration. Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke found their attention drawn to this disturbing spectacle, not quite understanding the meaning.

"We made a promise..." spoke Ezekiel in a voice just barely restraining his anger. "I THOUGHT WE MADE A PROMISE, KID!!!" Now all attention was definitely directed towards the genin that had always seemed so arrogant and calm, now turned emotional and frustrated.

In response, Kid just sent a half-hearted smile towards his teammate, before replying in a comical, light-hearted tone, "I guess I couldn't keep that promise afterall." Then, biting both thumbs, he smeared them across two areas of the unrolled scroll, and took one slip of paper out of each pouch, gripped them as he had previous ones, and clapped his hands together. The hazy glow that surrounded his left hand merged with the smoky glow of the right hand to make a pale light that glimmered with the promise of amazing things. Separating the hands, he placed each hand onto the two areas marked in blood, creating an instant reaction.

Dazzling blue and white light danced, racing around the young boy's body until it was impossible to discern his figure in the light. It continued like this for roughly one minute before finally the energetic reaction stopped and the haze began to fade and clear. What met the eyes of all the on-lookers surprised them - all but the eyes of his teammates, that is.

His body had changed, his clothing barely discernable through the new additions. His entire body had undergone a radical change, resembling a knight in white armor, but the armor was glassy, and shined under the lights above. Where there had once been a small boy now stood a lean, sleek figure. Long legs with flat-feet adorned the lower body while long, slender arms with thin, pointy fingers and long, thin blade-like protrusions jutted out from the arm at the elbow joint helped give off the impression of quick assault.

His face was left mostly unaffected by the strange substance, but the hair had the metallic gleam that the rest of the body possessed, and so did his neck. It was like another layer was added to his body, but it had done more than just that, but only Kid knew of this, as well as his team. It hurt to hear Zeke shout at him in anger, because he also felt the desperation and disappointment in the voice. The promise, given the history of the Chuunin exams of Konoha that they had a final tournament-style fight at the end, was to keep everything in check and don't reveal any trump cards.

Elru had shown a small portion of her's, but overall she kept it in check. But here he was, faced with the unfortunate circumstance of fighting arguably the strongest genin in this room, and needed help if he intended to move on. Funneling chakra towards the seals imprinted on his hands and placing them on the scroll activated a technique that Vander had helped him create. For not only did he lack the ability to control and mold his chakra correctly, but he also lacked the physical nature of a shinobi.

This was the answer to that problem. Based on his will and whim, he could influence the technique in one of two ways. Either reshape his body to one of a defensive nature, or one of an offensive nature. This was the latter. "Now, Gaara, let's do this. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to waste anymore. I'm on a tight schedule." And those words held great truth. He only had a brief amount of time to make use of this technique before the chakra energizing the armor would be depleted, effectively ending his fight. _'If my estimation is correct, I've probably only got 3-5 minutes.'_

Crouching down, placing both hands on the ground, digging his fingers into the tiled floor, Kid dashed at break-neck speed towards Gaara and swung his right arm around in a claw-like slashing manner. The sand that continued to act as a shield went into action again, forming a wall before the red-haired boy, but Gaara fell prey to ignorance. The attack broke through the sand shield, and viciously struck Gaara across the left side of his face, sending the hapless, startled genin skidding across the ground.

An unfamiliar sight greeted the eyes of the on-lookers from Suna. Gaara, hit by a successful physical attack, and the sight of blood on the hands of the enemy that attacked him. Baki was very impressed with this feat, for he knew that it took a tremendous amount of power to break through all of Gaara's defenses. But what he feared was how Gaara would respond to this. It had been far too long since Baki had seen Gaara take any kind of injury. Never, actually, was the case. He could never recall Gaara taking any physical injury while under his tutilege. How might the boy react? With the shoddy mental stability that Gaara possessed, it wouldn't take much to set the boy off - and the demon sealed within him. This very well could turn ugly in a hurry.

True to Baki's understandable, and now justified, fear, a spike in the chakra signature, as well as a spike in killing intent flooded the room. Winds generated from the form of Gaara as the boy rose unsteadily in the middle of a miniature sandstorm. Jagged lines marred the red-head's face, blood dripping from the casing covering his face, and a horrified expression adorning his visage. "Why...does it hurt...mother? Why does it hurt, Mother? I don't...like pain. MAKE IT STOOOOOOOOOOP!!!"

Gaara's left eye turned dark black quickly after his panicked and crazed statement to _"Mother"_ with a golden cross in the middle acting as the pupil. It was a tell-tale sign of the demon becoming dominant. The temperature dropped several degrees as a bloodlust the likes of which had not been felt washed over everyone present. Kid, being the one who had been the cause of this change in demeanor, felt the full impact of the twisted and deranged bloodlust.

But his teachings helped him overcome the initial fear and think through the possibilities. The large gourd on Gaara's back had disintegrated into a rich, golden stream of creamy sand that was wrapping around Gaara's left arm, enlarging it and making it look like a large, brutish claw. But Kid thought that he saw the flaw in Gaara's tantrum and increase in power. _'He's still only increasing his power, but is relying on his sand.'_ Kid believed that the sand was being manipulated by Gaara's control over Earth chakra and he felt that he had the advantage, for the armor was created through condensing the iron, lead, and calcium in his body with alchemized earth chakra as well, but it was being fueled by alchemized lightning chakra. The lightning chakra held an advantage over earth chakra-based techniques. _'I can still win.'_

Vander, however, knew his student well enough to know what Kid was thinking, and he knew that what Kid was thinking was wrong. _'The sand was indeed being controlled through Earth chakra, but now, it isn't. Whatever is causing this drastic shift in power in Gaara is manipulating the sand through a different elemental nature.'_ And his worst fear was realized when he detected it floating in the air. The chakra now radiating from Gaara was not of the Earth nature, but of the Wind nature. And wind defeated lightning.

Kid did not possess the ability to detect chakra nature in one's chakra signature, so he was not aware of this. Blindly rushing towards Gaara in an attempt to end the fight quickly before his chakra ran out, he cocked his right arm back, ready to deliver another devastating melee attack. But the large arm of Gaara was deceptively fast and struck a mighty blow against Kid, who was knocked away easily. While the armored boy was not surprised about the power behind the attack, he was surprised that it was so effective at knocking him away and the speed of the attack. Another thing, one that scared him, was that his armor had cracked some on his right arm and right side of his leg and torso.

He now understood, but it was too late. Gaara was now fighting with wind-natured attacks. The chakra was so heavily influencing the attacks that it could be felt even with melee attacks. It was a lost cause, he knew he was defeated, and it hurt that he knew this. Resigning himself to the inevitable, Kid readied to surrender. There would not be any need to foolishly fight and humiliate himself further.

The sound of something shooting through the air fast caught Kid's attention and he barely avoided one of Gaara's trademark attacks. A shuriken of sand was launched from the bulky left arm of sand. "Wait. Gaara! I-" but he got no further as the appendage stretched out and grabbed him, lifting him into the air, and slammed him mercilessly into one of the walls, shaking the building from the ferocity.

With his armor further damaged and no longer giving him the benefit of protection and strength, he felt the impact and could not avoid another shuriken of sand that hit him with such force that his breath left his lungs. Before he could gather his breath back, Kid watched in horror as the solidified sand that had encased Gaara's left arm shed off and floated into the air, becoming a multitude of small sand bullets. Eyes wide in horror, he just barely managed to scramble away from his indention in the wall as several bullets were shot into his previous position. "Sabaku no Gaara, wait one second, will you? I surrender!!"

With his declaration, Hayate tried to intercept Gaara before he could continue with his rampage. But he couldn't get there in time as the remainder of the sand bullets were shot at an untrackable speed and barraged Kid. The sound of his armor shattering could be heard, but was then over-powered by the excruciating sound of his screams of pain and flesh being ripped into. Before anything else could happen to the poor boy, Kakashi appeared next to Gaara in the blink of an eye, the fingertips of his right hand glowing with five different kanji. Slamming the glowing fingers into Gaara's right shoulder - the shoulder that houses the seal of Shukaku - he effectively sealed off Shukaku's chakra.

Vander had rushed towards his pupil as soon as the _Suna Shigure _was being fired on Kid after surrendering, but was unsuccessful in getting there in time. His hands, glowing green with medicinal chakra, were focused on the most damaged areas of the boy, who always seemed strong but now looked to be frail and fragile. There was significant superficial damage ranging from shallow cuts to deep lacerations, and a troubling loss of blood at an ever-increasing pace. No doubt Kid would need a blood-transfusion within the hour.

But aside from the superficial, there was extensive internal damage. Ruptured vessels, splintered bones, and bruised organs all were causes for concern for the boy's life. When the medic team came to escort him off the floor and to the back, Ezekiel and Elru had rushed down to check on their teammate, as well as Naruto. To Naruto's surprise, it was Ezekiel who was the most concerned and emotional at this point.

"Is he going to be okay, sensei?" asked the worried boy.

"I am unsure at this moment. He has received extensive damage to his body and given his body's frail nature, I am unsure if he will be able to survive." responded Vander in a voice that seemed devoid of emotion. It was probably the nature of Vander's apparent main profession in the shinobi world, being a medical shinobi.

That news didn't seem to settle well with Ezekiel, who turned on his heels immediately and sent a powerful wave of murderous rage towards Gaara. Before he could react, however, Vander had lain a hand on Zeke's shoulder and squeezed tightly. "Keep your emotions in check, Ezekiel. Blindly fighting will not do anyone any good."

The tension remained high, as Baki escorted Gaara back up to their overhang, as did Vander with his remaining team. But Naruto was forced to stay on the ground floor, for his name had appeared on the electronic screen. It would be he against Kinuta Dosu.

-----------------------------------

Kakashi had just made his way back up to the platform he was stationed with his sensei and Jiraiya. Upon his return, he was immediately questioned about the incident with the young boy from Suna.

"Kakashi, was it what I thought it was?" inquired Arashi, a grim, serious look etched on his face as his eyes followed Gaara's ascension of the stairs.

"Hai, Hokage-sama. The seal was on the right arm, as you said it was. There is no doubt. There was heavy youkai influence." When his sensei gave a non-verbal affirmation to continue, Kakashi closed his visible pupil and sighed. "Bijuu."

The news, while expected, did not settle well with Arashi. He could not fathom why the Yondaime Kazekage would place this sort of burden on his own son. Was it in a move to bolster the military forces by having an ace in the hole? Or was it some other agenda that was beyond Arashi's spectrum of insight?

Arashi was, as seemed to be the norm as of late, pulled from his thoughts when a sudden explosion rocked the room. Dust hung in the air, as unsettled as Arashi's nerves, while the Hokage searched for his son's chakra signature. He felt horrible for having his attention on something other than his son when the moment was more than perfect for the young boy to do exactly what Arashi expected of Naruto.

Step out of the shadows of Arashi and what was once done by the most promising of shinobi in Leaf history. Make a name for himself. And finally, and most importantly in Arashi's view of things, prove he is deserving of the last name that Arashi had helped signify as prominent. But what troubled Arashi most about this was the lapse in consistency.

So much promise was shown in Naruto's early years of development, only to slump gradually and noticeably. But under the assumptions posed by Jiraiya, he was advised by the older man to leave Naruto be and allow the young boy to work through it until ready to _man up_ to the responsibilities of a young shinobi in Naruto's position.

Days became weeks, then months, then three years passed, and it still showed no signs of relenting. Where once Naruto was on the verge of excellence in all fields, he ended his term at the academy struggling to stay on par with the middle of the class. Someone in that position, however, should not have been capable of the things that have been reported that Naruto has accomplished in the past few months. The learning and mastering of jutsus at an incredible pace, the brief but amazing spouts in combat abilities, and even the reported use of his own technique, the Rasengan, was leading to a large number of questions that left Arashi wondering several things. One of which was, did Jiraiya know anything about this? And the second was, given the nature of the rise in level of Naruto, just how far could he go?

--------------------------------

One common understanding in the rules of engagement when faced with a combat situation between a foe you have no information on is to engage the subject in hand-to-hand combat. This action quickly helps to assess the level of your opponent and force their hand before you have to force your's.

However, in this situation, it was proving to be a foolish choice for Naruto's opponent just so happened to be most dangerous in close-range combat. In an original assessment, Naruto felt that with the bulky size of the coat Dosu wore, that possibly Dosu was slow in movement. But as was shown on more and more occasions, first assessments were usually wrong. Dosu was fast...very fast. And, whatever that weird device was on Dosu's right arm helped to make even missed attacks hurt, much like Jyuuken, but it wasn't Jyuuken.

His vision was already blurry, for whatever was happening whenever Dosu swung that right arm, it had happened close to his head. He could literally see the effects and was already feeling very nauseated. Dosu's voice spoke through the heavy bandaging on his face moments later after Naruto was kicked in the gut and sent skidding across the ground.

"This is pathetic. You, son of this village's Hokage, have already fallen to my melody arm. This device sends out altered waves of sound with each swing of my arm, adding more impact to my attacks. And you foolishly charged in and became a victim to it."

Naruto gritted his teeth in frustration. This guy was sounding just like Neji and it was pissing him off. Mostly because it was true. As soon as he had gotten to a standing position, however, and tried to concentrate his chakra so that he might be able to unleash a counter-offensive, Dosu had already moved to be right in front of him. With another impressive swing of that dangerous arm, Naruto was struck in the gut and he could feel his innards trembling from the force.

Trembling and doubling over in pain, Naruto regurgatated and fell as a twitching heap. This pain was so tremendous, he wanted it to stop. In the back of his mind, he could practically feel another part of himself screaming in frustration, not in agony. _Is this really going to be it? Are __**we**__ going to be defeated this way? To this guy?_

"I expected more from you, Uzumaki. But I guess it can't be helped with a wet-behind-the-ears rookie." With a huff, Dosu turned around and started to walk towards the steps, already believing the fight to be over.

Naruto was mentally screaming _Stop!!! This fight isn't over!!!_ But he couldn't muster the strength to get up.

Suddenly, the world stopped. Dosu stopped moving, everything in the room dimmed, lost color, as though going out of focus. Then the image sucked itself into a hollow space and all that was left was a blinding white light. When, at last, Naruto's eyes adjusted, he was in a completely different room.

_Room_ did not quite fit, though. It wasn't a room because there were no walls. The hard, chipped, and damaged floor he and the others had fought upon had been changed to one of a clean, polished surface, like a mirror. Realizing he didn't seem to be in any pain here, he stood up and looked around, gathering a better understanding of this place. The new landscape had a ceiling resembling the outside sky, but this one was in constant turbulence. The sky was dark, but not so that it resembled night. It was dark as though a storm was brewing.

What was truly the most strange thing about this realm was that it didn't feel like the realm he lived in. Everything seemed to be more artificial. The howling wind, the sudden claps of thunder, even the flash in the sky trying it's best to resemble lightning, it was all artificial. Without speaking to anybody in particular, Naruto muttered a simple question. "Where am I?" Though his voice spoke low, it still seemed to echo here.

_"This is your mindscape."_ responded a voice all around Naruto. Looking around, he tried to identify the owner of the voice, only to not find anybody.

"Who are you," questioned Naruto, seeking to find this person. For some reason, this place seemed terribly foreboding and left him feeling sickly. It seemed to be a feeling reminiscent of home-sickness. He was yearning for company in this strange, turbulent-filled world and the owner of that voice might offer what Naruto was needing right now.

He heard chipping, like what one might hear when glass is cracking, and reacting upon instinct and his earlier observation of the floor, he looked down to see the ground cracking in a uniform manner. The lines that formed gave the look of a perfect rectangle, and this shape rose from the ground and stood erect in front of Naruto.

True to it's appearance, the glassy surface acted as a mirror, showing Naruto himself. But what was different about this mirror and it's reflection, was that the reflection did not behave as Naruto himself behaved. It was moving on it's own. The reflection walked forward, blue eyes shining and an arrogant, toothy smile etched upon this Naruto's features that seemed to ooze confidence. But the surprises did not end there.

The Naruto-reflection continued to walk forward until it stepped out of the mirror and stood only a few feet away from Naruto, looking as real and life-like as anything else in this world. But what was different about this look-alike was that it felt different. While everything here was surreal and felt artificial, Naruto couldn't feel that from this doppleganger. It felt as real as he himself felt in this realm.

Yet another surprising thing was that as soon as this figure stepped out of the mirror, the mirror shattered, as though it had served it's use and could now be disposed of. Taking a better observation of this doppleganger, Naruto could see just a few minor differences between he and the look-alike. Where Naruto wore his normal wind-breaker jacket and pants combo as usual, the look-alike wore dark, baggy pants, a dark undershirt, a vest that resembled the armor Kakashi-san wore at times when he came by to visit after missions, and a white, long-sleeved trench coat that Naruto could tell had what appeared to be flames licking at the bottom of the back-side of the coat. Leather fingerless gloves adorned the hands, and the standard shinobi sandals adorned the look-alike's feet.

It was the attire Naruto had seen his father in on more than one occasion, and Naruto felt a strange feeling creep into himself. His question earlier, the answer seemed to be right in front of him, but there seemed to be more to this, and what that was was hanging on the tip of Naruto's tongue, like he knew what this was, but couldn't quite bring it all the way into understanding.

_"Who am I, you ask?" _asked the doppleganger, mimicking Naruto's earlier question. _"I am you, Naruto."_

Skepticism must have still been in his eyes, for the look-alike put on a fake pout like he was hurt. _"You don't believe me?"_ When Naruto shook his head side to side, the look-alike burst out laughing. A laugh that was neither pure nor sarcastic. It was a chilling laughter.

_"You truly are pathetic, you know that? An eyesore. To think I am actually a part of you, that we were once a whole. But nooooo, you had to go and ruin it. Allow me to remind you just who I am. _

_"Five years ago, we were practically the best there was at our age. We trained almost non-stop, perfecting things that are usually held back from other's as young as we were, and advancing on a pace that Jiraiya had said was faster than even our father was at our age. Time passed, we met a young girl, Hinata, and turned nine years of age, gaining permission to attend the academy. That first year, we excelled at eveything that was thrown at us, and had no equal, not even Sasuke._

_"But, that's when the looks came. The looks that started this. The whispers that drove this to happen. We both heard the mumblings of discontent from our peers, how they felt it was unfair for them to be compared to us when we were clearly outclassing the entire lot of them. But...that was when it happened. You were created. You, who represents the conscience of our conscious. You, who over-reacted to the envious spite sent our way. You, who drove us apart in your over-reactive, guilt-ridden mind._

_"We had always focused on our training and had, therefore, never known what it was like to have friends, have fun outside training, and it was you, you who enjoyed such amenities like friendship, that feared pushing others away with our superiority, and decided to do something about it. But you couldn't just turn us off. **I** still existed. I represented our pride and our confidence. I was the lesser of our conscience, for I seemed to lack it, in your eyes. But, you were too young to understand the division of ego from conscience in the conscious realm of the mind. You felt that if we were hindered, somehow, that it would not only make it almost impossible for us to rise above the rest of those in our class, but we could co-exist in the middle of the pack._

_"So you sought out one of Jiraiya's seal scrolls, for you knew the old man wouldn't condone this action. Managing to steal it while the horny, old man was off peeping at a local hot spring, you attempted to use an ill-advised, complex seal that acted to de-stabilize the natural flow of one's chakra. But when Jiraiya tried to interrupt you, you incorrectly performed one of the symbols and used the malformed technique on ourself. What you did, inadvertently as it was, was not only did you succeed in destabilizing the flow of chakra, but you also created a seal on us. What it did, even Jiraiya was unsure of when he tried to figure it out, but in response to your pleading, he promised not to tell our father, and kept it on, for you were so desperate for it._

_"What the seal did was severed me, confining me into this pocket of your mind. But, as you grew over the years in my absence, I did so as well. It was like we were two completely different people residing inside one body._

_"Your weakness and guilt led to our separation. But now, I believe you understand that we need each other. No longer can your weakness be our dominant persona. Remember back in that joint mission? When Hinata was hurt by Garrett? You were desperate for the strength to do something, anything, to change the tide of the battle. And in that desperation, I arose. __The strength you yearn for when you need help, I am that strength._

_"__Now, this insect is insulting us, our father, our heritage, our namesake, and I will not allow him to go unpunished. If we cannot co-exist, then I will destroy you and rid this body of your weakness. Understand?"__  
_

An ultimatum the likes of which he had never heard. Either he co-exist with this wrathful, vengeful ego, or get destroyed by it and never exist again. Both choices seemed like lost causes. For if he were to give in and accept the other's help, then he might be overpowered and cast aside like he had to this other Naruto. Was it really worth it?

The answer came to him a moment later. Pride. Confidence. Arrogance. It was everything he needed right now. Naruto, at that moment, felt like he was a desperate man lost in a desert, who suddenly stumbled across a fountain of the most purified water. He realized he indeed needed this. He could no longer hide from his responsibilities, from who he was.

_"Your hesitation is disgusting. If that's how you feel-"_ but that Naruto was cut off as he saw the other Naruto hold his hand out. Chuckling darkly, but with hints of relief, the pride of Naruto spoke one last time. _"Good choice."_ Suddenly, the realm he was in melted away, being sucked back out, as the blurred vision of the chipped floor of the battlegrounds came back into focus.

-------------------------------

"I'm surprised, but I suppose I shouldn't be," commented Neji out loud, critical of Naruto's performance.

"Neji-niisan, please," pleaded Hinata, wishing that whatever Neji had against Naruto would just end already. The bitterness between them had always upset her, and tore at her heart, for while Neji did act unbecoming in comparison with her, he was still her cousin, but she always considered him her brother. She cared for him deeply for she had always felt guilty that he had that despicable seal etched on his forehead.

Turning her thoughts from her relationship with her cousin, she lamented on what his snide remarks were made in regards to. Naruto appeared to be defeated by this literal unknown. She had always felt Naruto held some greater strength within him, and evidence was apparent on a small number of occasions. So why wasn't he capable now?

"Hinata-_hime_, you should know that I speak only the truth now. Son of the Hokage, tutored by one of the Legendary Sannin, Jiraiya, and this is how he turns out? It's pathetic. Even you, Uchiha, should understand that." As he completed his statement, he was surprised to see Sasuke's sharingan activated, blazing with the power of his clan. The line of sight seemed to be focused on Naruto, before a smirk cracked the face of Sasuke, and the Uchiha turned to look at him with those eyes.

"It's not over, yet. Your eyes should be able to see it as well. His chakra is spiking. He isn't defeated, not yet." When he was finished addressing Neji, Sasuke turned his attention to the main floor, where Dosu was casually walking away and Hayate seemed prepared to give the call that the match was over. Acting quickly, he threw Hayate off his intended track with an outburst of a statement, uncharacteristic of the Uchiha.

"Hey, the fight's not over!" he shouted, causing all eyes to fall on him, including Dosu, who stopped in mid-step, before all attention fell on the person he was looking upon.

Dosu, as well as his teammates on the other side of the room, began sniggering snidely, apparently unbelieving of the Uchiha's claim. He felt his own blood boil as he heard that arrogant laughter, but then he felt it, and he was almost positive, given that the laughter had stopped, that the Sound nin, as well as everyone else, had felt it too.

A killing intent, not as strong as the Suna shinobi, Gaara, but still quite strong, filtered across the room, coming from one spot. Naruto.

----------------------------

Chapter Nineteen finis. I'm evil when it comes to cliff hangers, ne?

So what did you think? I hope it was up to standards. I had to go back over the first two detailed fights, and improve some of the details, and I hope they ended up coming out alright. I want to let everyone know I was not Ino-bashing earlier in the chapter. I did that mainly for the comical relief. If they had been paired up in the actual story arc, I honestly believe that is exactly what would have happened.

Also, I wanted to give everybody the answer to one of the biggest questions people had about my story. How Naruto, who seemed on pace to be the strongest genin period, went to struggling in the middle of the pack. Well, I hope this answers that question. (But if you are still confused, go ahead and ask me about it in a review and I'll respond.) I said at the beginning of this story to not forget the beginning chapters, for I tended to back-track to those and answer questions about curious events happening in those chapters. That was _**fifteen chapters**_ in the making.

Once again, I apologize for the tardiness of this chapter, and it doesn't exactly help that now that I have a full-time job, that I'm gonna be just as busy as I have been. But maybe with the stress of looking for a job off my shoulders, my mind will be much clearer to entertain my muse.

One note I would like to comment on. While I did say I won't beg for reviews, I must admit that I agree with other authors on this website. They help to propel one into action. Each review I get helps spur me on. It's odd. I can tell myself I want to write something, but my mind could blank on me. But as soon as I see a review, my mind instantly goes into artistic overload. So, review when you get the chance, it helps make my day that much better. (God I must sound pathetic. lol )

Quick translations:

_Kumori Hirameki_/Shadow Flash - Not much information is known about this technique, but from simple observation it appears to give the user a burst of speed resembling the Shunshin technique. Further information is needed, but it seems that only Elru can use this technique.

As for the next chapter, I suppose I could give you all a preview. _The preliminaries continue, as the numbers are whittled down to the last remaining few. But, the spectators are left in awe. What is this? This explosion of power? All those watching are left to wonder the same thing as everybody else. Could this truly be: _The Real Naruto!


	20. Chapter 20

I'm back, once more, this time with more Naruto goodness. I'm currently at my brother's apartment, enjoying a short vacation, uploading this so that I keep my promise to you all. Hope you like this one as much as the other's, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

Chapter 20 - The Real Naruto

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His hands began to tremble as they planted themselves firmly on the hard ground and helped to push the blond into a sitting position. Then, moving to get up on one knee, Naruto coughed, a small puddle of bile and blood accompanying the action escaped his mouth. Wiping his mouth with his right arm's sleeve, he pushed up with his left arm and hand until in a standing position.

Locking gazes with the other, Dosu saw something that was quite chilling. Blue eyes, glazed in anger, that seemed to pierce through his own. He had to restrain himself from stepping back out of reflex. The entire world seemed to be tuned out as he found himself, inexplicably, focusing on Naruto, and the intent the boy was exuding. Seemingly unknown to him, his heart began to race rapidly, his palms were becoming sweaty, and his breathing increased.

"What's wrong, Dosu?" asked Naruto, his voice icy, and malevolent. "Where's that bravado? Why aren't you laughing? Don't tell me you regret your actions?"

That series of demeaning questions struck a chord with Dosu, as he seemed to snap back to reality. He hardened his stance, clenched his right arm, and readied to attack. _'No matter what has happened, he was still hit by my melody arm. He couldn't have recovered from that this early. So that means I still have the chance of an advantage if I don't hesitate.'_

Without needing another reason, Dosu charged his opponent, ready to end the fight once and for all, putting Naruto in his place.

But when he was in striking distance, and lashed out with his right fist, equipped with the deadly melody arm, right for the boy's face, he was caught surprised and speechless as Naruto had merely reached out and caught his fist.

It didn't make any sense to him. He could see the ripples in the air, coming from his melody arm, but it didn't seem to affect Naruto anymore. How? How could such a drastic shift occur in his opponent in such a short amount of time? It was like the Naruto he had humiliated was nothing but a fake that was replaced by this colder, icier, and more powerful version.

That's when he felt it, the spike in chakra. On the ground, small debris from earlier fights began to move away from the direction of Naruto, as a breeze seemed to be emitting from the boy. A glow began to shine around Naruto's body as a hazy vapor began to pour from the blond's body.

The grip on his hand became extremely powerful, almost breaking the hand. Suddenly, he was pulled in to Naruto so that their heads were side by side. "Sorry to inform you, temé, but I'm not the same as _him_. Now, you fight me." After that chilling statement, his blood ran cold.

-------------------

To the general public watching this spectacle take place, it was strange to witness for some, and a welcome change for others.

What most could not appreciate, was something that Gai found incredibly peculiar. He may not know much about other jounin's instructional methods, but he did honestly believe that he was the only one who had knowingly taught a student a rather dangerous and forbidden technique.

So he found it odd that the son of the Hokage was about to unleash the first gate - Kaimon. The first gate was always the hardest to open, because it required a vast amount of stress and strain to be applied to the body, while pressuring and focusing your chakra towards the designated point in the body.

The finality was that of a release, like a weight being lifted, and your entire body felt free. That is the reaction from releasing the Kaimon, but there didn't seem to be anything pointing towards it, except for the unmistakable release of pressurized chakra. It was similar, but didn't feel quite the same. Could it be something different?

"Gai-sensei, could that possibly be-"

"Hai, Lee-kun." While he still wasn't exactly sure if it was really the Celestial Gate opening, it did have that feel, and his pupil, Rock Lee, was aware of that. So he interrupted the boy before Lee said anything he might regret letting anyone else hear.

"Amazing. It is as I thought. Naruto-san truly was amazing. But now, he is radiating. Now show us, Naruto, your brilliance."

While happy that Lee was displaying such emotion for a fellow comrade, he felt that Lee had been dragged down. Now, if it did come to it, his youthful fires would be looked at as mediocre in the face of the Hokage's son's accomplishments. The life of a genius of hard work seemed to be frought with hurdles and challenges, and never seemed easy.

--------------------

A surprising burst of light came from Naruto, sending an upright Dosu skidding across the floor on his feet, and leaving all other spectators entranced. When the light dimmed down, Naruto stood within a haze of blue, with what looked like steam wafting from his body. However, in an almost anti-climatic show, the haze fizzled down, as did the steam.

But not the power. It was still evident. Even more so when Dosu was sent to the ground and slid to a stop several meters away as Naruto stood right next to the very spot Dosu had been standing. Even for Sasuke's sharingan, it was hard to track.

_'He moved so quickly, I could barely even keep up with the vapor trail of his chakra.'_ "Yamato-sensei, what's going on? What is this technique?" Sasuke inquired.

"It has the same feel, and yet it isn't what it feels like. To answer your question, Sasuke, I think he is channeling some hidden reserve of chakra, just like opening one of the celestial gates, but without actually opening the gates themselves."

On the floor, Dosu was struggling to get up, only to see Naruto right in front of him. Clenching his right hand, Dosu swung for this new Naruto, but it was blocked and a short jab drove into his gut. Sputtering and coughing, he swung again, but was once again blocked, and was met with an elbow uppercut, knocking him off his feet and sending him backwards, blood seeping through the bandages around his mouth.

Sasuke viewed this with such careful scrutiny, because he was able to see what the other genin could not. The intangibles. While he suspected others may just be marveling at the increase in power, he was seeing the things that normally go unnoticed. There was precision with everything Naruto was doing. There was purpose behind every movement. There was no wasted movement, and no weakness to be exploited. Naruto had gone from looking like a clumsy idiot, to a born and raised assassin.

He felt a strange amount of jealousy. And the jealousy was being strangely fueled by watching Naruto. Because it seemed like Naruto had changed completely, and everything was looking so easy, and he seemed to be so strong, and all these changes occurred in the sudden, inexplicable span of a few minutes. But even more than that, was the final thing Sasuke was noticing about his teammate. Everything did look easy, too easy. Almost to the point that it looked like everything was effortless.

Naruto was toying with Dosu.

-------------------

Dosu tried desperately to pick himself back up, but it was proving to be quite the task. He wasn't an idiot, he could see it. The lack of effort on Naruto's attacks, and yet they hurt so much. What looked like a jab to the mind's eye, felt like a full-powered strike from one of the chuunin's back in Oto.

_'If only I could get one more good shot in with the melody arm. Then this could be over.'_ When Naruto seemed to come off as bored, waiting for him to get back into a standing position, that was the moment he chose. Dashing into position, he threw his right fist at Naruto's face, with the intent that even if he missed, or it was blocked, the backlash would still do enough damage.

But Dosu hadn't calculated one thing to mind. The will of his opponent. Naruto didn't care about the possible effects of Dosu's attack. Because if he did, then he wouldn't have jumped at Dosu and slammed his right knee into the face of the unsuspecting Oto-nin.

Watching as Dosu sputtered and coughed, and a familiar red tinge blotted the bandages around the attacked area, Naruto chuckled. "And here you were calling _me_pathetic a few minutes ago." Naruto seemingly boasted, arrogance leaking out of the corners of the verbal blow, rubbing salt in the already exposed and bleeding wounds of his opponent.

Dosu swore to himself, before chuckling in a crazed and perverse way. He still had _that_. Oh yes, he did still have _**that.**_

Dosu, in his haste to regain the advantage, had foregone the warnings given to him by his and his team's appointed sensei, Kabuto. Kabuto had warned him to not take the pill, under any circumstances. But when you give somebody that same thing you tell them not to use, it's like an invitation to do exactly what was forbidden.

Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a dark purple pill, bit through his bandages so he could get access to his mouth, and ate the pill. The reaction occurred only a few brief moments later.

Thanks to all the covering over his body, the change could not be seen, but Dosu felt it. And quickly, so did everybody else. A purple chakra seeped off of Dosu like thick smoke, but with this strange chakra came a whole new development. Dosu's strength had sky-rocketed.

And while it may have worried some people who were rooting for Naruto, it didn't bother the boy they were rooting for. He felt it, and smiled. It was proof that Dosu wouldn't be boring. That was another curious thing to Naruto. He seemed eager to fight, where before he hadn't. It must be the addition of the aggressive nature that was dormant for so long.

"Now this is what I'm talking about. Show me what you've got!" shouted Naruto, confidence and depraved excitement guiding his adrenaline-fueled statement.

In a furious rush, Dosu charged Naruto, ready to kill the blond. He had every intention of slaughtering Naruto and leaving blood everywhere, the ultimate proof of his superiority. The chakra had completely changed him into crazed man, only seeking to spill the blood of his opponent, instead of just defeat him.

Naruto dodged as best he could, getting a safe distance away from an attack that would, no doubt, cause a great deal of trouble if struck successfully. As he jumped back to avoid the attack, Naruto noticed that the ground chipped and broke up under the considerable force of the melee assault.

But he couldn't help further noticing that Dosu was still only using that right arm of his to attack. Again dodging another vicious swing of the right arm, Naruto was hit in the face by the additional impact of the sonic waves being emitted from the offending appendage.

Falling to one knee, despite himself, Naruto fought to regain complete control over his vision as it had become blurred by the impact. Through his struggle, he could hear Dosu's taunting, mocking voice cut through the air more powerfully than the sonic waves his arm unleashed.

"Heh, and here you were, just moments ago, asking where my bravado went. So where's your's?" he asked in a superior, snobbish, mocking, ridiculing tone that just drove Naruto on.

"My bravado, huh?" Naruto asked in amusement. "_**My**_ bravado?" he asked again with disgust. "Don't insult me." he finally spat, standing up and wearing a vicious scowl.

"Bravado is nothing more than a security belt held on to, clung to, for dear life when faced with an opposition of which you are uncertain you can handle. Bravado is a false front, the bragging and boasting of that which you can't back up. Bravado is all that you are." Upon completion of his statement, Naruto watched as Dosu's lone visible eye took on a deranged look as the boy made a mad dash for him, clenching that damned right fist.

"I'll show you what I am, you cocky little bastard!" Dosu screamed.

"Pathetic," Naruto mumbled, before snapping together a familiar set of seals, lightning quick. Upon completion of his seals, he pointed his left hand out, right at Dosu's approaching form, index and middle finger extended like a make-shift gun.

_"Fuuton: Takaya no jutsu."_ he breathed out quietly, like the whisper of an assassin on the wind, right before the killing blow was struck. True to the technique's name, a burst of wind shot from his fingertips, compressed into the form of an arrow, as it screamed across the air towards it's target.

Unmercifully, without any impediment, the arrow of wind took to it's true target, performing exactly as Naruto had intended. It wasn't meant to attack Dosu's entirety, but the arm that held Dosu's favorite tool of attack. For he didn't want to end this fight. He wanted to make the statement loud and clear for Dosu to understand.

The look of shock that filled the visible eye of Dosu said all there needed to be. The_Melody Arm_ the boy bragged about, boasted about, and flaunted with each and every single swipe of his, was decimated, shattered by Naruto's attack. The cloth around his right arm was also torn apart from the velocity of the_takaya's_ winds.

And yet, before any other coherent action could possibly be taken, before any rational thought could be formed in response, Dosu, again, was met with the sudden arrival of Naruto right in front of him.

Naruto grabbed Dosu's now unarmed right fist and gripped it with his left, while speaking to Dosu in a cold and calculative tone. "Do you see now? Can you understand now? You never had any real strength to begin with. It was all a false front, nothing but bravado, from a manufactured power.

"While mine," Naruto continued while extending his right hand out, palm facing up, and in a claw-like manner. It was the one moment that caught everybody by surprise. For a blue hue could be seen as chakra began to flood the hand, then took the shape of a perfect sphere.

"Is real." he finished, thrusting his right hand into Dosu's gut. The reaction was instantaneous. Dosu was sent careening into the wall behind him, as though blown from his original standing point by an explosive. From Naruto's hand came wisps of smoke, the attack having not been fully controlled and burning the skin that held it.

Naruto appeared as though in pain, and the twitching of the hand also seemed to further prove that theory. Exhaling a deep sigh, he then brought the hand in to his body and cradled it, before looking at the designated proctor of these preliminary fights. "Isn't there something you need to say?" he asked, trying to sound genuinely innocent, when all that came off was a comical, sarcastic tone.

Nodding, Gekkou Hayate raised one hand up. "Winner of the preliminary match, Uzumaki Naruto."

---------------------------------------

Rubbing his head, ready for an impending headache, Yamato fought to approach this matter in a professional manner. The problem was that his student wasn't behaving in a professional manner.

"What is the matter here?" he asked, looking from Naruto, to Hayate, to a member of the medical staff designated for these fights.

"Tenzo - I mean, Yamato-san - Naruto-san has been requested by the medical staff to report for a precautionary check-up. And he is being quite adamant about not doing so." reported Hayate, barely catching his mistake when talking to his former Taichou.

"That's because nothing is wrong with me. I'm fine." Naruto stated, trying to sound as reassuring as possible. From Yamato's perspective, he could see a few tells for why the medic team might want to perform a precautionary diagnosis.

His body language screamed exhaustion, but not chakra, nor physical. It was mental. Yamato could tell this by seeing the subtle movement of Naruto's eyes. Also, the way the boy was gingerly cradling that hand, he could tell some physical damage was done beyond the superficial burns.

But, more than any of those reasons, he had reason to believe, through observing Naruto's fight first-hand, that Naruto had used a technique similar to the Celestial Gates Opening. There had to be some strain or damage done elsewhere in the boy's body. There just had to be.

But when Naruto looked him in the eyes, Naruto's eyes spoke a truth deeper than words. They spoke a hidden message for Naruto. Sighing, he looked at the medic, then to Hayate. "As the boy's Sensei, I feel I have more leverage in this situation. Naruto will go for a diagnosis...after the prelims." He then looked down at his student. "Got it?" he finished, giving Naruto _that_ look.

With a shudder, Naruto grinned and nodded. "Yes, I understand, Sensei."

As they both walked towards the stairs leading to the overhang, Yamato viewed out of the corner of his eye the medic team finally _peeling_ Dosu's body from the indention in the wall. Looking back at his student, Yamato pressed the issue just a bit more. "How are you_truly_ feeling, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up at him for a moment, then looked back forward with a glazed look over his eyes, before looking back to him. "I feel good...better than I've ever felt, to be quite honest. If I had to give a succinct, one word analysis, then I'd have to say I feel _free_."

"Don't think for one moment that by my giving you permission to by-pass a precautionary step like a medical diagnostic check, will lead to more further actions of the same. And, also, don't think that I believe you are fine. I can't tell how badly, but I know you've done more than superficial damage to your hand. But that road will be crossed when we get to it. Okay?" He saw out of his peripheral vision his student nodding. "Good."

-------------------------------------

Naruto stood before Sasuke, a strange moment between the two as an air of tension seemed to circulate and fluctuate around them.

"So how long did you intend to hold that back huh?" asked Sasuke, an edge to his voice.

"I..." Naruto started, but then cut himself off, finding the right words. "It wasn't intentional. Well...I guess it was, but it also wasn't..._aagh_" he stopped and groaned as he brought his good left hand up to his head, in obvious frustration. "It's hard to explain teme. Besides, it's kinda private. Since when did it matter to you-"

"Since we became teammates." Sasuke gritted out, his words biting, surprising Naruto. "We're a team, and we don't hold anything back from each other."

It was such a strange thing to hear, even though he had heard something similar from the once-believed stoic Sasuke. "Sorry...Sasuke," he responded a bit sheepishly. "It's hard to explain right now. I'd need time and...more privacy...to explain all that I can make of it, but if I had any control over what happened, I would've done something about it sooner."

Off to the side, Hinata viewed this exchange with a critic's eye. She was watching to see if there was anything different about Naruto. Unlike Sasuke, she was very aware of what Naruto was talking about. She just didn't know about it from Naruto. Her Byakugan had activated during the fight, and she could see a strange pocket of chakra, compressed into Naruto's hara.

Thanks to her knowledge and her training, she knew what that compressed pocket of chakra meant. It was a seal. But why hadn't Naruto seen fit to tell her about it? Was it as he said to Sasuke? Was it a private matter? So private he couldn't tell her?

She was wrapped up in her thoughts so much that she didn't notice Naruto right next to her. "Did pretty good, didn't I?" He asked, not really bragging, while placing his uninjured hand on her shoulder.

Like an electric shock, she jumped and squeaked, then immediately turned around, flustered and embarrassed about her reaction. "H-Hai, Naruto-kun. Y-You did very w-well." she stammered out, mentally beating herself with a brick for her humiliating response.

It was only a few moments later that she managed to collect herself and turn around to look at Naruto. When she had his eyes locked with her's, she attempted to read Naruto's eyes, as she was taught by her father to do through the emotions shifting through one's eyes.

Naruto's always seemed to be his windows, and right here, she was mystified by what she saw. True, uninhibited freedom. She hadn't seen this kind of peace in Naruto since...forever. She smiled in relief at seeing this. Despite the belligerence in his persona when he was fighting against Dosu, there did not seem to be any carry-over. And for that, she was relieved.

---------------------

The beeping of life-support systems echoed down the halls as the Jounin representative of Sound walked towards his _pupil's_ room. Greeting the medical shinobi stationed there in the most convincing of social ways, he convinced them to give him some privacy with the injured Dosu through careful weaving of a submissive genjutsu.

After their departure, Kabuto pulled back the hood and looked at the heavily damaged form of Dosu. His hands shimmered green as he placed one on the boy's head. A moment later, despite his injuries, one eye of Dosu managed to crack open, the other sealed shut because of heavy bruising.

"Dosu-kun, it seems Naruto-san proved his worth, ne?" asked Kabuto in the same convincing social tone. Yet underneath, he was seething.

Sputtering for a few moments, Dosu managed to speak. "Where...did that...power of his...come from?" Dosu asked, not really expecting an answer, as his statement was more of a customary response to Kabuto's question.

"Hmm...I would have to say, but this is just a guess, that he somehow opened the celestial gates. But enough of Naruto-kun. I want to get to you." He paused, just enough to flood his murderous intent into the room. His two saving graces were that the room was only occupied by Dosu, and that as he entered the room, he had cast a shielding genjutsu to not allow whatever transpired in this room to be overheard or felt, by outside parties.

"K-K-Kabuto-sama..." stuttered Dosu, panic racing through him, the heart monitor going into a frenzy at the boy's frantic state. Naruto's intent was strong, but nothing compared to this.

"You defied me. You disobeyed me. And by doing so, you disobeyed Orochimaru-sama. Do you realize how much you could have compromised everything Orochimaru-sama has worked for with your foolish actions?"

"I-I-I am sorry, Kabuto-sama. I-" but Kabuto forced him to hold his tongue through another vicious barrage of murderous rage.

"Apologies are meaningless at this point, Dosu. Now we have to go into an alternate phase. Disaster prevention."

Moments later, Kabuto walked out of the room, allowing the doctors who were waiting outside to enter the room to finish finalizing diagnostics. Nothing seemed unordinary...

Until Kabuto disengaged his genjutsu. And as he departed the hallway, he could hear the familiar sound of a flat-lined patient.

-------------------------

His right hand twitched as he watched the two new combatants face each other on the floor, now riddled with debris and damage from fights previous.

Naruto had a peculiar interest in this one. It would be Chouji, his rotund friend from the academy, and perpetual supporter of Shikamaru's _antics_, against a new-comer in Naruto's mind.

The teen known as Rock Lee was on the same team as Neji, and therefore held some intrigue in the blonde-haired boy's mind. For despite the perfect bowl-cut hair, green spandex, and creepy oversized eyebrows, Naruto was able to sense a confidence radiating from Lee, that the boy tried to disguise through the unusual hyper-active mannerisms.

Hayate took his position off to the side, but right in the middle of the two opposing shinobi, and was preparing to give the customary arm and hand motion to signal the beginning of the two's match. During that brief moment, Naruto viewed Rock Lee's odd fighting stance.

He stood straight, legs together, heels of the feet touching, but the planter part separated by about a thirty degree angle. The left arm, fist clenched, was held behind Lee's back, while the right arm was held out in front of the boy, elbow bent at a perfect 90 degree angle, and right hand unclenched in a knife-hand position, almost as though he were ready to give anyone a come-hither gesture.

Chouji's stance was lacking. Naruto could tell how the boy was going to fight in this fight. Chouji would use one of his family's techniques to expand his body, and use it like a bowling ball.

One second after his final analysis on the two, Hayate brought his hand down. The match had started.

And it ended just as quickly. In almost the blink of an eye, Lee had gone from standing in front of Chouji, to being behind Chouji, and had jabbed Chouji at the base of the skull, more commonly referred to as the sensitive spot on the skull. Chouji plopped to the ground roughly, and did not move afterwards. The match was over, in little more than three seconds.

Naruto had to blink several times, before he could truly appreciate what he had seen. Despite the very little amount of action that took place, what did happen spoke volumes for Lee's ability. The ability to move _that_ fast was phenomenal for a genin.

He chanced a look over towards the last remaining member of Cell Ten to fight, and saw the disappointment etched all over Shikamaru's face. But there was also a twinkle in Shika's eyes. It was resolve. Resolve to not be embarrassed when his time came.

Turning his attention back to the floor, Naruto could see the most ridiculous pout on Lee's face. While the emotion was a tad over-exaggerated in the dramatics department, Naruto had to admit that he liked Lee even more because of that display. It showed that Lee was a competitor, and had wanted a challenge, and Chouji just didn't give Lee what he was wanting.

Naruto actually found himself thinking about how much fun it would be to spar with Lee at some point.

The next pairings were shown, and Naruto cracked a small grin. It would be Neji going against the third and final member of the Suna triplets, Sabaku no Kankuro.

Watching as Neji made his way to the floor, Naruto could feel his blood beginning to boil, and his mind instantly started reacting to this change in demeanor with a question in order to cool himself off a bit. Just why did he resent Neji so much?

At first, it was the way he had acted that first day they met, when he was there waiting for Hinata and Kurenai-san to finish getting ready to go. But as time went on, the anger and resentment was directed towards Neji, because he knew that everything Neji said about him was true. Naruto was a disappointment, given the level of the shinobi he was surrounded by as he grew, and the expectations that were placed for him because of who he was.

Then it became more about Neji's overall attitude. Not just towards him, but towards Hinata, and even his own teammates. Neji just acted the part of the complete ass.

And yet, his arrogance and attitude...could be backed up in his ability and power. Hinata remarked that at one point, she had seen Neji do things that not even the adults of Main branch of the Hyuuga could do. Neji was apparently the diamond in the rough in that family. And now, despite everything, Naruto found himself holding a begrudging level of respect.

Whether it was his brush with that suppressed side of him during his fight earlier, or just the result of numerous fights with strong competition, he was seeing things in a whole new perspective. People weren't just people in Naruto's eyes. He was seeing them as more than just people. He was seeing them as potential competition.

When Hayate gave the signal to start, Naruto was a bit curious why Neji would choose to go on the offensive without the activation of the byakugan. But then the tell-tale veins began to emerge, and Naruto could see Neji's body tighten as he tried to stop just in time. For what, Naruto didn't know, until, just like Neji's predicament, it was too late.

The odd bundle that Kankuro had been holding began to unravel, just as Kankuro leapt for Neji's position. Out from the bundle came another Kankuro, blue strings composed of chakra connected the black-clad shinobi's hands to the other Kankuro, which had just wrapped it's limbs around Neji as tightly as possible.

Naruto knew at that point what was going on, and it was ingenious. Kankuro was a puppet-user, a rare breed of shinobi. They specialize in the mastery of using, obviously, puppets in a shinobi's line of work. Using paint and pastel, Kankuro was able to make the puppet he was controlling look just like him, then had himself stashed as the package. For anybody who did not know Kankuro, it was a clever ruse that could very well lead to Neji's downfall.

But, that could only be said if Neji were not your ordinary genin.

"Just my luck. I'm paired against the only person who has the eyes to see through my little ruse, but you go and not use them, giving me back the advantage. Now be a good little boy, and go to sleep for a bit." With that, Kankuro clenched his hands, and the puppet could be seen struggling to tighten it's hold on Neji.

The key word there was _struggle_. But upon closer inspection, it could be seen that the puppet could not tighten it's hold on the Hyuuga. To the untrained eye, it would appear that it was being blocked by a wall of air, but Naruto could see it. It was a shield composed entirely of chakra.

By growing up with Hinata for the past few years, Naruto had gained a good bit of knowledge on the talents of the Hyuuga. Their fighting style used chakra to assault the body, either by damaging muscle, organs, or by shutting down an opponent's chakra system by closing off tenketsu. They did this by forcing chakra through the tenketsu on their hands. It's a style that requires an enormous amount of concentration, skill, and control to perfect.

But the same principal to attack, could very well be applied here with Neji's defense. He was sending chakra through every tenketsu point in his body, creating a perfect barrier. Kankuro had been clever, but Neji was just plain good.

"Wh-What the-" Kankuro muttered through clenched teeth, not understanding what was going on.

The shield expanded, and then Neji began to spin, whipping the shield of chakra into a spinning frenzy that destroyed the puppet completely, and knocked Kankuro off his feet. When the puppet user finally stood back up, he saw the pose Neji was in, a fighting stance that sent a slight shiver down Naruto's spine, for he knew what was coming next.

"Hakke," spoke Neji, calm and cool, as the boy began to slide in an elegant, flawless flow towards Kankuro, "Rokujuuyonsho." The dull drumming of the painful, repeated, stabbing blows met the ears of all as they watched Hyuuga Neji perform 64 devastating, speedy strikes to Kankuro, before finishing it off with a powerful right arm thrust, the blow landing right at the middle of the sternum. The ripples in the air could be seen coming through the back of Kankuro, a testament to the power behind that final attack, as the victim of Neji's brutal assault fell haplessly to the ground, completely and utterly beaten.

As the proud Hyuuga stood in triumph, Naruto noticed three curious actions take place. One was Neji's reaction. The boy did not alert the proctor at all in regards to his victory, only deciding to stride off in arrogance, before coming to a stop and looking up. Naruto could only assume that Neji's gaze was directed towards himself, but for what reason specifically, Naruto could only guess.

The second action came from Naruto's left. The source was the remaining genin from Kagegakure's team to fight. Ezekiel's right hand was gripping the railing so tightly, that Naruto could see the boy's knuckle's turning white. Chancing a closer look at the boy's face, he could see Ezekiel's jaw tightened, teeth almost bared, in a strange display of anger. Was it directed at Neji? Did something happen between them at some point since Ezekiel and his team have been here? Naruto didn't dare ask, almost afraid that the spite and resentment Ezekiel was exuding would be directed upon himself.

Besides, the third curious action that happened was Hinata's surprised, and ever-so-slightly horrified expression. "Hinata, what's wrong?" When she didn't respond, he began to worry. He could not recall a time when Hinata had not reacted or responded to a question he posed to her.

Just when he was about to wave his hand in front of her face to get her attention, she began to stutter out a statement of some kind. "H-He c-can..." she trailed off, leaving Naruto dangling on a proverbial cliff, until she spoke again. "Kaiten."

The word's significance was lost to Naruto, for he knew not what she was referring to. Could she mean the barrier of chakra Neji created? He was going to ask her about it until he saw the names of the next two combatants. It was to be the bun-haired girl from Neji's team against Hinata. Naruto cracked a smile.

Nudging Hinata with his elbow, he made sure she saw her name on the screen. When she did, her face became one of complete despair. It was at that moment that Naruto truly came to grips with one of Hinata's biggest hindrances, and yet it was the one thing that made her so special. Ten-ten and Hinata must be friendly with each other on some level, and Hinata did not want to fight against someone she was friends with, with intent to harm or defeat.

As she walked towards the steps, Naruto was at a loss for what possible words he could say to ease her, or motivate her. But before she was out of arm's length, he reached out and stopped her. He did not know why he felt compelled to say something, he just knew it would help. "Don't forget your reason, or your purpose, Hinata-chan. Okay?"

He then released her arm, and time slowed to an amazing, suffocating crawl. The few seconds that elapsed after he spoke felt like an entire hour. But he finally saw her posture straighten as she continued her march towards the stairs, determination showing with every step. He was amazed for two reasons. One, that his words actually worked. Two, because he could get to see her fight against an opponent not like him, Sasuke, or those bastards from the Forest.

Tenten was smiling at Hinata as the two faced each other, a gesture Hinata shared before assuming the Jyuuken pose. Tenten lost her friendly smile and adorned a confident smirk. "Hinata-san, I'm not gonna go easy on you, you know that, right?"

Hinata flinched just slightly, but nodded nonetheless. They both stared the other down, waiting for any sign of weakness, but none showed. When Hayate began the match, the two kunoichi sprang into action.

Hinata rushed forward, wanting to end the fight rather quickly, but Tenten had a different plan in mind. Since the girl was on the same team as a Hyuuga, it was no surprise that Tenten had a method of fighting another Hyuuga. Reaching into a back pocket, Tenten quickly hurled a large cluster of shuriken, all aimed perfectly to try and take away all avenues of escape.

But it was only an attempt at trying to stop Hinata, for the Hyuuga kunoichi displayed uncanny nimbleness, darting around all of the shuriken, becoming skinny and small as she continued her trek towards Tenten. When within striking distance, Hinata thrust her right palm forward, but Tenten just leapt over Hinata, twisting her lithe body in a beautiful display of elegance and nimbility.

But with the elegant display, came another flurry of shuriken and kunai raining from the sky. Hinata bounced away, doing her very best to avoid each and every one of them, a feat that was amazing in and of itself.

When finally the rain of metal death stopped and Tenten had landed, two scrolls could be seen in her hands. Both were bound, for now, but soon, given the way Tenten was holding them, they soon would not be. Her thumbs snapped the string binding the scrolls closed, and she prepared to unravel them, but not before making a statement.

"It's nothing personal, Hinata-san. But I want to win just as much as, I'm sure, you do. This technique, only Neji-kun has been able to defeat." With a cross of her arms, the scrolls unraveled, and metal flooded all that the eye was capable of seeing. Hinata was blanketed by a virtually inescapable swarm of kunai and shuriken, with no route for escape.

Naruto had found it odd that Tenten would make such a comment before attacking, but after seeing the technique she was using, he understood. Only if you were capable of erecting a shield or barrier strong enough to withstand the myriad of weaponry could you seemingly escape without sustaining any, or much, damage. And Naruto worried if Hinata was capable of such a feat.

Once again, time seemed to crawl at an agonizing pace, as Naruto heard the voice of someone to his left. "Tenten has made a gross miscalculation." The voice belonged to Neji. "She used that technique, thinking that since Hinata and I are related, that we are capable of the same things. But that isn't true, is it...Uzumaki?" The last part was not meant to be taken as a question, Naruto knew.

And while he would no more care to converse with Neji than he would punch a beehive with no protection, he could not dispute the claim Neji made. As far as Naruto knew, Hinata did not possess such a shielding technique.

However, his thoughts screeched to a halt as he saw a brief flash of light, followed by about 70 of the projectiles either stopping in their tracks or being blown away by a sudden gale force. Out of the scattering projectiles came a dashing Hinata, who made it to Tenten in under two seconds.

Naruto did give Tenten some credit, though. She managed to take a defensive measure against the sprinting Hinata and made to attack her, but Hinata just spun out of the way of the high kick Tenten had thrown to attack her, and, while spinning, tapped the base of Tenten's skull with her index and middle fingers. The result of the seemingly light attack was Tenten falling to her knees, then slumping to the ground, unable to move. Paralyzed.

"Gomen, Tenten-chan, but I didn't want to hurt you. Y-You'll be numb for awhile...but then you'll be better." Hinata said, in a reassuring voice. She then looked at Hayate, calmly waiting for him to give approval of her victory.

"Winner, Hyuuga Hinata."

----------------------------

Simply put, Naruto was ecstatic, proud, and amazed all in one moment. Because he had just realized the significance of that last fight. His team was the only one to make it and move on intact. As Hinata came back, Naruto's smile threated to crack his face in two, but Sasuke knocked it off with a quick punch to his shoulder. Turning around, Naruto was met with a smirk on his teammate's face that was, despite it's size, as exuberant as Naruto's smile.

He was also relieved that Yamato-sensei was not making him report to the meds in the back just yet. Naruto was being given the chance to see the rest of the matches. And the next one was sure an odd match-up.

Haruno Sakura was to face Nara Shikamaru.

When the two faced each other, all viewers were surprised by the odd request of Sakura. "Shikamaru. Please fight me...with everything you've got. Please...I need this."

For several moments, the air seemed to be sucked out of the room, tension at a high, all viewers waiting for the perplexed Nara to respond to the curious request of his opponent. Finally, a groan escaped the boy's throat as he stretched his neck and rubbed his shoulders.

"Gah, and I thought Ino was troublesome." Another sigh, followed by a rebuttal from said girl, Shikamaru continued. "Meh...Fine, if that's what you want." Suddenly, Shikamaru's look went from distant to focused, his posture from relaxed to poised. He was, for the first time Naruto could remember, becoming serious about his line of work.

Hayate gave the signal to continue, and Shikamaru instantly snapped his hands together in his family's seal. His shadow, which normally would crawl towards his opponent, shot out towards Sakura like an arrow shot from a fully pulled bow string.

Sakura barely reacted in time, just managing to back flip away, but when the shadow continued to reach for her, she nimbly continued her dance backwards until finally, to her relief, and Shikamaru's chagrin, his Kagemane had reached it's limit.

"So...it does have a limit, eh?" she said between quick breaths. Naruto could tell that it wasn't because she was exhausted, more like she was surprised. Surprised by the fact that Shikamaru was being serious about this fight.

"I can only manipulate the shadow to the limits the available light gives me. In other words, yes, it does have a limit." spoke Shikamaru as the boy removed his jacket. "But, this place is a confined area. Not much room for you to move, or to escape." He then brought out a kunai and began tying the sleeves of the jacket around the kunai.

It was a strange action, especially in the middle of combat. If Sakura were truly capable to taking advantage of this opportunity, then Naruto believed she would not hesitate. But Sakura had not shown a true adaptability towards ninjutsu. Sure, she knew plenty of the more basic techniques. She mastered those quickly and flaunted it. But Naruto doubted she was much more skilled now, than she was then, in combative ninjutsu.

That weakness of her's is probably what stopped her from attacking Shikamaru, and Shikamaru seemed to know that. Once his odd task was complete, Shikamaru flung the kunai into the air and the jacket shot up like a parachute. But more importantly, it created a shadow on the ground.

Reassuming his family's seal, his shadow streaked out and connected with the floating kunai's shadow, and then continued past it. Sakura was very quick to the response, reaching into a pouch on her right thigh and pulling out a small pellet. Leaping as far backwards as she could in one go, which was surprisingly far, she threw the pellet to the ground, shrouding herself in smoke upon her landing.

When the smoke cleared, three Sakura's stood where once there was one. It was easy enough to guess she had used the Bunshin jutsu, but it was especially clever because they were flawless. Shikamaru, if he was going to use his family's ability, would need to guess right, before Sakura was within striking distance.

All at once, the Sakura's ran towards Shikamaru, but maneuvered and weaved in and out of formation, adding further confusion. Shikamaru had apparently decided upon a course of action, because he threw two kunai at two of the Sakura's and then immediately made the seal to perform his Kagemane again.

One kunai flew harmlessly through one Sakura, sticking to the wall. The other kunai and his Kagemane reached their respective targets at exactly the same time. The Kagemane continued on, much to Shikamaru's furthered chagrin, as the other kunai was dodged by the real Sakura. Now with Sakura within striking distance, the Kagemane was rendered a useless technique, and Shikamaru released his hold on it.

And just in time, too. Sakura threw a punch that Shikamaru blocked only a few inches from his face. The two shared a slight smile before resuming. Suddenly, Shikamaru forced the issue, going into a taijutsu combination that had Sakura on the defensive, until she dropped low, keeping her left knee tucked to her body and used it to pivot her body on the ground as she performed a standard leg sweep.

Shikamaru, further surprising on-lookers, fell to the ground, raising his legs to avoid the sweep, and planted his hands firmly on the ground. Using his planted hands the same way Sakura had used her left leg, he pivoted on the ground, performing his own leg sweep, but he used both legs, which would create more impact. Lucky for Sakura, she had apparently improved her nimbility and speed, for she avoided the attack with ease.

But her avoiding of his attack left her open for him to attempt the Kagemane once again. And yet, she seemed to be on the same page as him, for she threw another smoke pellet that shrouded her, and she once again was surrounded, when the smoke cleared, by more bunshins, but this time there were four. The five Sakuras, copies or not, all grinned a mischevious grin, before holding out their right hands, index and middle fingers making a V-for-Victory sign.

At that exact moment, Shikamaru's eyes bulged wide as the air around him distorted and wavered, before the shocking sight of Sakura met the eyes of all on-lookers, as she stood behind him, kunai pointed directly at the carotid artery on his neck.

"Give up, Shikamaru-kun. You've lost." When she saw his hands tense for a brief moment, she gritted her teeth in frustration, and pressed the blade closer to the artery. "Ah, ah, ah," she said in an admonishing tone, "Don't try anything funny now. I don't want to do it, but I want to win, now that I've come this far."

Shikamaru, despite the situation, chuckled. "Damn, you sure are troublesome. Once I saw you use the bunshins the first time, using the smoke pellet for cover, I knew you were going to try and use it to establish a close-quarters kind of fight, but you caught me off guard with this tactic. You used a genjutsu on yourself when you concealed yourself to make yourself appear invisible.

"Then you made five, making me believe I had to deal with four bunshin and one real Sakura, but you just tip-toed your way behind me, and tricked me. Very good. You got me, and good."

To the normal spectator, it might seem that Shikamaru was delaying the inevitable, or giving a proper congratulations as he admitted his defeat, but Naruto knew something was off, but he couldn't quite tell.

"You went step for step with me, and then began anticipating my moves, and was on the same page with my actions. Good job...

"Except for the fact that the sun is setting."

At the exact moment he finished his statement, a sizzling could be heard and the wall behind them exploded. Sakura, out of instinct, reacted quickly and leapt away from the explosion, not realizing the predicament it placed upon her. It was only when she landed did she notice her mistake of making a hasty decision purely on instinct.

Light flooded in from the hole created by the explosion and cast Shikamaru in it's glow, giving off the impression of the victorious hero. But more importantly, was the fact that the light was casting a shadow from his body and connected to her's. She looked up, only to see the truth of the situation. Shikamaru, serious look plastered on his face, hands in his family's seal, as her body went rigid.

"Kagemane...successful." he spoke, releasing the seal, but maintaining his hold over her. "I'll give you a lot of credit, I never expected the whole invisible thing. You did surprise me there."

"H-How...When?" she asked, shock and disbelief in her words.

"The kunai I threw that went through your first bunshin, had an explosive tag on it. I had not activated it when I threw it. I activated it when I felt the metal touching my neck and you dispel your genjutsu. It was a special tag though, it wouldn't go off just like that. It was a delayed-response tag made specifically for setting traps or surprising a dis-alarmed opponent.

"But I had to choose the right side and then lure you close to it, since you were determined to make this fight a taijutsu fight. Luckily, you did it for me. And I guess...the rest is history, ne?" Taking his right hand, it tightened as though he were gripping something, Shikamaru brought it up to his throat, stopping a few inches from his artery.

Sakura's right arm and hand mimicked his, and brought the kunai still held in her hand up to her throat, bladed point pressing just slightly against the major artery. Her eyes were wide as Shikamaru raised his left hand high into the air, Sakura's left arm and hand doing the same, and he gave her the ultimatum.

"It's over, Sakura-san. Give up." he spoke, telling her her only options right now. She gulped a couple times, sweat beading down her face, before she seemed to finally resign herself to the conclusion.

"I...give up." she spoke, dejected and defeated.

But after Hayate declared Shikamaru the victor, with a bit of pride in the proctor's voice as the declaration was made, Shikamaru did something surprising yet again. "Don't talk in such a manner. And hold your head up." He released the Kagemane's hold on her, as he continued in his speech.

"I don't do this much, alright? So bear with me. But I feel like I gotta say you took one hell of a step towards bettering yourself today. If I hadn't thought to put that explosive tag on the kunai when I threw it, you would've won. So don't kill yourself over one loss." Walking to where his jacket was, he untied it and put it back on, then put his hands into his pants' pockets as he walked towards the steps.

"Instead of thinking of it as a loss, use it as a small step towards a much bigger goal...and pass the next time."

Shikamaru's speech had the desired effect, because Sakura's eyes shone with renewed vigor and determination, where they were dull just moments ago when she admitted defeat. Naruto already had respect for Shikamaru, for he knew of the boy's uncanny intelligence, but now he was certain of something as he watched the boy climb the stairs and come back to his team.

_'He's gonna be a great leader someday, for sure.'_

But back to the prelims, and Naruto ran down the fights and realized this was the last one, the three-way match. After realizing that, he went down the remaining fighters and was stunned. _'How could something like this happen? How could they let this system whittle down the fighters and then have a three-way match where two people on the same team would be fighting in the same match.'_

Sure enough, the proof appeared as the last fight would be between Ezekiel and two shinobi from Sound, Abumi Zaku and Tsuchi Kin.

Out of the corner of his eye, Naruto could see, as well as feel, the frustration coming from Vander, but Ezekiel was surprisingly calm in the face of this situation.

The two sound genin snickered and whispered amongst each other, probably strategizing how to work with each other to take Ezekiel down as quickly as possible, and then settle who would represent their team and win the match.

"I wouldn't bother with that." spoke Ezekiel, that same strange calm fluttering about, even in the words he spoke.

"Whatcha mean by that, pretty boy." came the snide response from Zaku.

The two shinobi fixed their gazes on each other, as Hayate seemed to debate with himself between starting the match as normal, or not even allowing it to happen. However, it was the words that came next from Ezekiel that seemed to start a chain of events that Naruto could honestly say he never saw coming.

"You two are currently trying to find a way to choose which of you will move on after you two have defeated, are you not?" Stretching his neck from side to side, everyone could hear the popping of stiff joints. "The problem with your dilemma is that you are yet to even fight me. Therefore, the two of you believe that I have no shot at defeating you both, given that you will tag-team against me."

His gaze hardened into a piercing glare and the temperature seeming to drop a couple degrees as Ezekiel's killing intent leaked into the air. "Do**not**..._insult me_."

"Cheh...I'll make you eat your words, kid." Zaku clenched his hands as he readied for the start of the match.

Naruto observed this whole situation with a startling amount of anticipation. Of the three shinobi, this one appeared to be more respected by the team as a whole. Naruto recalled, back when they first met, Kidreme showing a large amount of respect towards Ezekiel, coming to the seemingly arrogant boy's defense. Why show that much respect to someone within your own age group unless there was good reason?

Each team is given a purpose, and each shinobi that makes up that team is given a role. Their team seemed to be a combative team, with Kid being support. That would leave two fields. Elru seemed to fit in the mold of the closer, the one who finishes the job, and takes out the stragglers or those who hope to escape. Which meant that Ezekiel was the opening act, the first strike.

But in order to be a first-strike style of shinobi, you had to be reliable, efficient, and most of all, possess the strength and ability to utilize powerful attacks against a number of opponents that could heavily outnumber you. So perhaps, given if this was the case for Ezekiel, the numbers game really wouldn't play much of a factor in favor of the two sound genin.

Hayate, for the last time this day, gave the signal for the final preliminary fight to begin. Zaku instantly attacked, jerking his left arm out, palm forward, as a wave of slicing, cutting air, escaped the metal tubes as he attempted to cut down Ezekiel quickly.

But as the cutting funnels of wind reached Ezekiel, the blue-haired shinobi vanished from his previous position, the cutting wind just fizzling out as it did not hit it's intended target.

Kin blinked several times in disbelief. "Where did he go?" she asked, almost in a frantic manner.

From behind her, much to the shock of the kunoichi, as well as all else, Ezekiel responded to her. "Behind." She turned around, just in time to see his fist emerge from the cloak and strike her in her gut, doubling the poor, unsuspecting kunoichi over in pain. "You are not a threat, so I am not treating you as such. Be grateful it doesn't hurt more." He then raised his knee, connecting with her chin, snapping her head back, and launching her several yards away.

That left just Ezekiel and Zaku. The latter of the two stood dumbfounded and enraged. The other stood tall and proud, his gray eyes, nearly unreadable, but assisting his body language in a boastful statement that Ezekiel did not have to state. He had not only asserted himself, but he had capitalized upon small fragments of what were opportunities presented to him, and now he was in complete control.

Naruto overheard the mumblings of his own sensei, and listened in to see if he could pick up anything from the hushed whispers of Yamato. Deciding to forego the classic of shinobi tactics, Naruto asked his sensei outright. "Sensei, what's up? You're mumbling something and I was just-"

"Sorry, Naruto, but I'm just impressed at this entire class of Chuunin-hopefuls." He then stared at the floor where the two combatants were facing each other, waiting for the other to make the next move. "That one, for instance," he continued, referring to Ezekiel, "just performed a technique I simply was not expecting out of someone his age." Yamato looked at Naruto, and Naruto could tell that, just like when Hinata had been muttering about Neji being able to use the_Kaiten_, that this technique was also just as impressive at mastering. "Shunshin."

Naruto's eyes bulged at the mention of the skill. It wasn't really a technique more than it was an acquired talent gained through rigorous amounts of training and perfecting one's own body movement, chakra control, and focus. Apparently, Naruto's earliest assessment of Ezekiel was true. The blue-haired, gray-eyed shinobi was just like Neji and Sasuke. An arrogant ass and totally cocky, but a genius nonetheless.

Zaku, rattled as he was, still managed to chuckle despite the change in tides. "That look is funny, you know? You think that just because you dodged it once that you can do it again. Plus, you're thinking that without my partner, this will be a lot easier, am I right?" Zaku then held up both arms and aimed them for Ezekiel. "Don't get cocky, the fun's just starting."

As soon as his cliché retort was finished, he unleashed his assault. A wave of wind, much larger than the first time, cascaded all around, trying to overwhelm any and all that would dare to oppose it. Those on the overhangs, did all they could to brace themselves as the massive gusts threatened to knock them off their feet.

When finally the assault died down, Zaku, as well as the remaining spectators, waited to see what had become of Ezekiel. The dust began to settle, and what met the eyes of all was quite a sight indeed.

A large shell, like one would expect to see on a turtle, was resting in the exact spot Ezekiel had been just moments ago. The size of the shell was not alarming, but it also was no mere shell. It was probably 7 feet wide and 6 feet tall. The shell itself appeared worn and weathered, as though it were ancient.

A shuffling noise of sorts could be picked up coming from underneath the shell, if that made any sense at all. But that's when one half of the shell was propped up, revealing Ezekiel to be unscathed, but curiously lacking his cloak.

"H-How did you..." asked Zaku, repulsed and infuriated that his attacks were proving fruitless.

_"Ninpou: Kame Kawa no Mannen."_ responded Ezekiel, a slight movement of his head proving his referral towards the discarded shell. "There's only so much one can do with a weapon such as your's." he continued, his voice carrying a sort of mocking tone to it. Like one would expect from a wise elder trying to teach _know-it-all_ kids. "You know, Uzumaki-san spoke the truth when he fought your other teammate. You're pathetic. All you wield, all you have, is your manufactured power."

"SHUT UP!!!" erupted Zaku, tightening his arms, readying to launch yet another wave of damaging wind. But the hum could be heard as he built up power for it. "I'll show you my power, power blessed upon me by our great Otokage."

A cocky smirk crept from the corners of Ezekiel's mouth as a small chuckle floated into the air, mixing and mingling with the hum from the man-made tunnels inside Zaku's arms. "Very well, I will test your power. Give me your best shot." Ezekiel then started forming a large number of handseals at a fast rate of speed. "Fire away." he challenged, daring Zaku to make the first move.

Of course, Zaku complied, calling out the name of his most powerful attack. _"ZANKUKYOKUHA!!!"_ he shouted, a monstrous bang signifying the ignition of the technique. Then, a blast, much larger than the one previous to this, erupted from the tunnel-like device residing in Zaku's arms. The oto-shinobi could only cackle for even he did not believe he could unleash power of this magnitude. But now that he saw what he was doing, what his weapon was truly capable of, he knew this fight was over with.

But amidst all of the chaos, in the middle of the raucous of his strongest attack, he could hear the call of his opponent's technique and, even more frightening, feel the release of chakra. _"Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu."_

Not but a little more than a second later, Zaku was careened into by a massive surge of water, almost the size of the Zankukyokuha, but with more than enough force to knock him off his feet and plant him firmly into the wall behind him.

Once the commotion finally died down, Ezekiel could be seen standing right knee bent, placed in front of him, left leg tight and firm, acting as an anchor for Ezekiel's body. His arm's were outstretched before him, right hand's palm placed on the back of his left hand, the palm of that hand facing his target. Droplets of water dripped to the floor from the left hand of the boy, and a layer of moisture covered his face, but whether it was from the attack he had just used or sweat from the exertion could not be determined.

Finally relaxing his posture, Ezekiel turned to walk away, believing he had won. Honestly, so did Naruto, given the chakra used to exert that much pressure into the water jutsu. But then he heard the familiar burst of air that came from Zaku's weapon, and saw Ezekiel turn around just in time for him to put up a moderate defense. The boy's body was not overly large, so his arms did not act as much of a shield, but the attack did not have nearly the size it had in previous uses, nor the power. But the aftermath showed it still could cause damage.

The clothing that had felt the brunt of the attack was shredded, and blood did dribble on to the floor, signifying damage had been done. And the frequency that the blood did drip to the floor showed that the attack was a devastating one indeed, even at that weakened state.

"You...shouldn't presume, pretty boy...that you've won...just because you got the better of me...in that little duel." he managed to get out between deep breaths, demonstrating that Zaku was close to exhaustion, but he apparently held a great deal of pride, for Naruto could only guess that was what was fueling him. "Never...ever...turn your back on an opponent...unless you **know** you've finished them off. Now I'll finish this off." he spoke, grinning madly as he prepared for another attack, probably his last one.

"Pathetic," Ezekiel mumbled. "I gave you a chance to demonstrate your power...and you lost. But instead of finishing the job, I don't finish the job, to spare you, and let you understand the meaning behind my words." He lowered his arms, showing his features were of a seething, astonished anger. "One trick ponies don't survive in our world. You have to adapt, but your ignorance tells me there is no hope for you."

"You know...you talk a lot for someone who's about to lose." spoke Zaku, arrogant in the face of what he thought was his victory.

"No more words...only actions. Actions will now speak for me...as I put you out of your misery." The last portion of his statement was spoken in such a way that chilled all spectators. He had heard that tone before in someone else's voice. Ezekiel's teammate, Kidremé, had had that same tone in his voice when he was speaking to Gaara. And if Kid had had the power, Naruto honestly believed the boy would have made good on the promise to destroy Gaara.

Zaku, not believing Ezekiel could do anything more to him, probably believing Ezekiel was exhausted from using that last technique, just chuckled once more in that arrogant way, as he directed both arms towards Ezekiel, intending to perform one more attack to end the fight. "Just shut up and die."

But then Ezekiel vanished again, his previous spot showing only a slim amount of evidence that he had been standing there. Naruto instantly began trying to search for him, trying to locate the boy, who was using the _Shunshin_ once more. Only a brief moment later did he see the air shift to the right of Zaku, and Ezekiel appeared, jaw tightened and face contorted into an expressive visage of rage and deadly resolve.

But Ezekiel was not the same as he was before he had used the shunshin. He was now wielding a menacing weapon, a staff almost as long as Ezekiel was tall, with a terribly fierce-looking blade adorned on the top end. It was shaped like a familiar symbol, a symbol Naruto had seen before in a history book from back in the academy. It was a Fleur de Lis. The longest portion of the blade jutted out straight, and was probably a little over two feet in length. Two more blades jutted off from the base of the main blade, about one foot in length each, and bent like a crescent. They held a resemblance to scythes, and the way Ezekiel was holding the weapon, he appeared to be a servant of the grim reaper.

"FOOL!!!" Ezekiel roared, raising the weapon high, gripped with two hands, and brought it down, completely severing both arms between the wrist and elbow joints of both arms, at a perfectly gruesome half-way point.

A pause hung in the air as the delayed response was expected. Soon, not but a few seconds later, Zaku screamed bloody murder, horrified look on his face as the boy looked at his cleaved arms. Another noise filled the air, as the blade of the Ezekiel's weapon scraped across the floor. He had repositioned it so that the blade was facing behind him and the butt end of the staff was facing Zaku.

A quick jab, and the butt end slammed into Zaku's nose, the familiar crimson of blood flew into the air immediately following the strike, and knocked him partially off his feet, vulnerable to the next motion. A strong, side thrust kick was planted firmly into Zaku's sternum, and sent the poor boy sprawling across the ground. Ezekiel was not done, however, for he crouched down, low to the ground, seemingly to make a move towards Zaku and continue the brutal assault.

But that was before the commanding voice of Vander rose above all else and halted Ezekiel in his tracks. "That's enough, Ezekiel!"

Before he could move any further, Ezekiel froze, and Naruto viewed a strange, curious event. The grey-colored eyes of the boy which had held little emotion, aside from the fury and rage that had glowed among the orbs just moments ago, shrank and trembled. It was hard to assume when you hardly knew an individual, but Naruto had read books, studied notes, and knew through teachings from many that this was a common reaction among one who was either shocked, scared, or horrified.

Slowly, almost cautiously, Ezekiel un-tensed his body, shuddering all the while, and brought the weapon to stand in front of him. Holding it in position with one hand, he used the other to form the commonly-used one-handed seal, and spoke low and hushed. "Kai." A quick popping noise was accompanied by a thick layer of smoke that surrounded the weapon. When the smoke cleared, the weapon was gone, replaced by a smaller, bound scroll, like one of the ones Tenten had used earlier to materialize her weapons.

Tucking it into a holster on his back, he walked to pick up his cloak, disappointment in his body language and placed it back on. Hayate declared him the winner and called for the medics to come quickly. As they rushed in and collected the still unconscious Kin and the shuddering, pale Zaku, another crew came in to fix up the floor. They quickly went to work, patching up the walls, cleaning up the spilt blood, collecting all the scattered kunai and shuriken used in previous fights.

Soon, the ground floor looked presentable, and Hayate walked to the very center, coughing and cleared his throat. "Would all those who were victorious in their matches please come to the floor for an announcement."

------

The ten who won their matches marched towards their respective side's stairs and moved to stand in front of the proctor. All were confident and proud to be in this group. Above them, standing on his overhang, was the Yondaime, as he looked about all ten of the chuunin-hopefuls and nodded in acknowledgment of each one as he made eye-contact with them.

"Congratulations, each and every single one of you. You are the final ten who have qualified for the third and final portion of the Chuunin Selection Exam. This will be the same as what you all have experienced today, only with much more at stake.

"Three months from today, you will all compete against each other in a series of one on one match-ups, representing your village, and displaying all the talents you possess. Those who display all the appropriate attributes of an ideal Chuunin, will be blessed with the rank after the conclusion of the tournament. But that is not to mean that you must win the tournament in order to achieve rank. Even those who do not win the tournament can be promoted to Chuunin. Likewise, it is not guaranteed you will be promoted through complete victory in the tournament. You must display and possess all of the appropriate skills required from a Chuunin to be given the rank.

"Now before you ask, I will tell you why the tournament is so necessary. You represent your village each time you adorn your village's hitai-ite. You represent your village each time you go out on missions given to you by your village's Kage. And as such, you will be representing your village when you compete in the tournament.

"All around you, acting the role of spectators, will be influential, powerful, political presences, all possible clients for your village. If you represent your village to the utmost degree, then your village will reap possible rewards. It is a tradition older than I, and one you should be proud to participate in. Shortly, you will each select a number. That number will determine who you will be paired against and what match you will participate in."

Looking down to Hayate, he handed control to the sickly-looking man. "So, if each of you will, when your name is called, please come up and select a card. After everyone gets a card, we will ask for each person's number. So first, we will start with Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke walked up calmly and selected his number, not revealing it to anyone. Next was Shino, followed by Elru, then Gaara, Naruto, Lee, Neji, Hinata, Shikamaru, and finally Ezekiel. Hayate then stepped up, holding a clipboard, and looked at Sasuke first.

Down the line, they were called, revealing their number, until finally Ezekiel gave his number. Hayate finished writing down all the information on the clipboard before he called out the pairings.

"The pairings are as follows. In the first match, it will be Hyuuga Hinata against Hyuuga Neji. In the second match, Nara Shikamaru against Elru. The third match will be Rock Lee against Aburame Shino. The fourth match will be Uchiha Sasuke against Ezekiel. Finally, the fifth match will be Sabaku no Gaara against Uzumaki Naruto."

Eyes wide, shock was evident on Arashi's face as he heard the matches called out. To start out, a Hyuuga inner-clan feud could erupt do to this happening. He would have to pay careful attention to the goings-on with the Hyuugas for the next three months.

The fourth match required some surveillance as well. Ezekiel had a violent streak in him that was unnatural and haunting to see. He needed to speak with Vander to see what was up with the loose cannon and what the threat could be.

The final match was astonishing and ironic indeed. Naruto and Gaara would become a circus, as people would make it more about the sons of the two Kage's, and not about two shinobi trying to reach the rank of Chuunin. The additional factor was what Gaara contained. He could not fault the young boy for wanting to make something of his life, so the only option available for him was to train Naruto...and hard.

At that time, someone appeared in a poof of smoke wearing an animal mask and grey body armor. "What is wrong, Cat."

"Gomen-nasai, Hokage-sama, but I have grave news to bring to your's and Jiraiya's attention. Sandaime Sarutobi-sama has passed away."

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Chapter Twenty End

And so it's the end of that chapter. I hope it wasn't a disappointment for the length of time between the updates. Sad to say, but my life can't revolve around my hobbies, otherwise, I'd have a chapter out a week. I have other things that need to be done in my life for me to live. I can only hope to give you a rough estimate now, of when I will produce the next chapter. Given a change of circumstances now, the estimate is one month. So hopefully I can crank out the next chapter within that timeframe.

_Fuuton: Takaya no Jutsu - _Wind Release: Falcon Arrow Technique A technique used by pulling upon the air circulating around the user and compressing it into a fine needle. In previous uses, Naruto used the technique by pulling it through a focal point in front of him. In this method, he gave it more power by focusing the technique on a part of his body.

_Ninpou: Kame Kawa no Mannen _- Shinobi Art: 10,000 year old tortoise shell A technique used by Ezekiel. He gathered the chakra around his cloak and re-shaped it into the mold of a tortoise shell.

_Zankukyokuha - _Extreme Decapitating Air Cutter

_Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu - _Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique (_aka_ Giant Vortex)

And in the next chapter, the genin of Team Seven will be seen in their preparations for the Chuunin exam as they begin their training. A village will mourn the loss of an amazing shinobi and an excellent leader. And something is happening behind the scenes. What is in store for Konoha in the next chapter. The next chapter: _Corruption_


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